Everything and nothing
by KHighness
Summary: He's Jason Morgan. It took him a year of stumbling around in the dark, wary of the deadly skills he possessed before he learned his identity. Nikolas and Elizabeth never found out who he was before he did, he'd asked Elizabeth to marry him, and he stayed when his identity came out…but in the long scheme of things and the inevitability that is JaSam…how much did it really matter?
1. Chapter 1

**_He's Jason Morgan. It took him a year of stumbling around in the dark, wary of the deadly skills he found he possessed before he learned his identity. Nikolas and Elizabeth never found out who he was before he did, he'd asked Elizabeth to marry him, and he stayed when his identity came out…but in the long scheme of things and the inevitability that is JaSam…how much did it really matter?_**

 ** _Characters in this short story are the property of ABC/General Hospital._**

 **Chapter 1**

He's a grown man, but on account of how much of his life he actually remembered, he was only a year old. It was six in the morning and Jason had returned to the footbridge where he'd spent a majority of the night before, and previous weeks in fact - his troubled, jumbled mind trying desperately to compartmentalize recent events.

Almost a year to the day that he woke up in the hospital with no memory of his name or his life, Carly Corinthos, who he had formed a close bond with in the short time he'd known her, shocked his world and turned it on its axis when she shared DNA results that proved he was Jason Morgan. The conversation had not gone well, because despite the evident ridiculousness of him turning out to be some deadly, feared and revered Mob Enforcer who was married to Sam, and best friends with a guy he could barely stand to be in the same room with most of the time, 'Jake Doe' was happy and content. He was in love, had a family he'd give everything to, had made peace with the fact he may never find out who he was, and had the angel of mercy to go home to. He was _NOT_ Jason Morgan!

But since when did DNA lie? Faced with the inevitability of it all, he'd had no choice but to accept the facts and try to put it all into perspective. He was married. He had two sons, family, friends, a life. He soon found out that he had life altering decisions to make and people to hurt.

Jason looked over the brushes that surrounded the calm little creek below him, the morning dew glistening as it disappeared beneath the early rays of the rising sun, and he found himself coming to terms with his decision. Making the least amount of changes to everyone's lives is what made the most sense. Sam and Danny had a new family, and from the last year that they'd spent as friends, getting to know each other, he'd seen how happy she was. She smiled all the time, and except for the few occasions when he'd seen her grapple with the memories and the loss of her late husband, she appeared to have moved on. His son was a happy little boy with a big sister who obviously adored him. They made a beautiful family that he was certain she'd always wanted.

Sonny and Carly and their children had moved on too. They lived their own lives now, and he certainly wasn't interested in being anybody's enforcer or lacky - so they would just keep it this way and all continue to live their separate lives.

Carly had grown on him and he found he enjoyed conversations with her and helping her to figure things out whenever she needed to talk. She was good people…misguided at times and stubbornly headstrong, but she had a good heart. She'd befriended him almost immediately and he'd love to continue to have her in his life as a friend. But she would definitely need to learn respect for his fiancé.

Elizabeth. She had become so important to him, and the way she had embraced him and welcomed him to her family, making them his too, had meant everything. She'd given him love and acceptance and a home. He loved her so much - wanted to marry her and build a life together. He was a lucky man…but he was a married one.

It was unreal to him that he was married to Sam. She was definitely a beautiful, tough, incredible woman, but she didn't seem much like his type. She was fierce and self sufficient…she didn't back from confrontation or from danger, had a tongue as sharp as a razor and didn't mince words…but anyone could tell that inside the hard shell lived a woman of substance. If he was honest with himself he'd have to admit that there were times during the course of the time he'd known her that he'd often felt more than just a mere attraction. Some little thing she did - the way she laughed, a particular angle her head would strike during conversation…he could see Jason Morgan's captivation with her - there were definitely things he found attractive about Sam Morgan. But she was somebody else's girl.

When he'd thought himself married to Hayden Barnes, Elizabeth had insisted that he tried to give his marriage a chance, even though they'd already started to fall for each other. He'd felt like he had a duty to at least try, but would've dropped Hayden like a hot habit if Elizabeth would've taken him. When the news of his true identity first broke, he'd been deathly afraid that she was going to insist that he tried to make things work with Sam too, but she didn't. She'd left the choice up to him that time. She'd reminded him that he was different now, that they'd built something strong together and that it wasn't something he should dismiss without earnest thought. They were in love. She was right. They were all different now and at different stages of their lives…it wouldn't really benefit anybody to try to rewind the clock.

So he'd called Diane Miller and asked her to set divorce proceedings in gear. He needed to free himself and Sam from old obligations and give them both a clear shot at new futures. Without each other. It was the right thing to do. So why did it make him sad in some way? Why did it feel like he was hurting himself by making that choice? Was it because of Danny? Maybe. He had a responsibility to his son…but then again, he didn't need to be married to Sam to be a father to Danny.

Danny. The sweetest little four-year-old he'd ever known. Okay, so he didn't know many, but if he did, he was certain Daniel Morgan would still be up there on the list. From the first day he'd met the little man, Danny had clung to his leg as if they'd known each other forever. He hadn't spent much time with Danny over the last year, but the time that he had was precious and memorable. He was a remarkable little boy and Jason was awestruck to find out he came from him. He had _sons_.

"There you are. Somehow, I knew I'd find you here."

He looked to the sound of the angelic voice of his lady love to find her walking towards him, a smile on her face as she greeted him after a long night at the hospital. She was so beautiful to him. So sweet and caring, a true angel of mercy. He found himself wondering, why, when he had the choice between her and Sam, he'd chosen Sam and not her. He remembered her telling Jake Doe that he'd wanted to keep them away from danger, so he gave them up…but it didn't make sense to him that the same hadn't applied for Sam and Danny. Hadn't they mattered enough to leave for their safety too? He couldn't see how they wouldn't have.

"Hey." He returned her sweet smile, noting how tired she looked. "You didn't have to come looking for me - I'd be home soon." He reached out and stroked her hair as she stopped in front of him and surrounded his waist with her arms.

"I know, but I couldn't wait to do this." She turned her head upwards and tipped to kiss his lips softly, then smiled even wider. "I've been waiting all night to do that."

He hugged her to his body and stared deeply into her eyes. "Me too. I needed that."

Her smile waned. "Why? What's got you out here thinking now? Are you having second thoughts about the divorce?"

He hurried to reassure the strain he could hear creeping into her voice. "No, nothing like that. It's the right thing to do - I want to marry you. It's just…" He released her and turned back to the bridge, bracing against outstretched arms. "I still don't remember anything about my life. It would be nice to know why I made some of the choices I did, what my motivation in life was. It would be nice to remember being with you before, making our son together. I'm just a little frustrated with the lack of memories, I guess. Nothing new there."

He felt her arms circle his waist and her chin press to his back.

"I know - you've always been the type of person who likes to be in control of your life, so I know how hard this is for you. Just know that I love you, whether you remember or not. I can tell you anything you want to know…we were always very close so I know alot about you. I can tell you all about our son and that magical time we spent together - brief though it was. Things always got in the way of us, but we would've been great together, if we'd only had the chance before. We finally do, we finally get to have our time, and I'm going to make you so happy, you'll never want to leave ever again."

"You already make me happier than I have a right to be."

The words were falling slowly from his lips but his mind's eye was playing what had to be a memory. She was holding him in the same way she held him now, her arms surrounded him from behind and her head rested softly to the crook in his back, giving him such peace, as he looked down to where she hugged him, her delicate arms and fingers wrapping him in so much love. He was smiling - her embrace always brought a smile to his face that relayed the warmth and happiness he felt in her arms. _Tanned_ arms…with dark nail polish on her fingers…not the olive toned complex of Elizabeth's…nor her barely-there, pink hued fingernails. _It wasn't her_.

"Jason. What's the matter?"

He turned as her arms fell away from his waist. "What?"

Her brow furrowed in worry. "You just tensed up in my arms. What's wrong?"

He shook his head and took her hand, leading them away from the bridge. "Nothing's wrong. Let's just go home."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam signed on the proverbial dotted line, then laid the pen down and sighed. She never thought she'd ever be here again….signing away her marriage to Jason. Jason. They thought they'd stay married forever, happy and in love, unlike anything she'd ever felt for anyone. But cruel, cruel fate always seemed to have other plans for their lives…so now here she was, looking at their marriage, their love - reduced to a piece of paper that detailed settlements and joint custody of their child.

She never thought that she would ever lose him…not even when she would watch him arm himself and leave for a confrontation related to his dangerous business. Now, to find out that as soon as she'd finally put his memory to rest, after grieving and hoping for years that he'd make it back to her…as soon as she'd laid her love for him to the corner of her heart engraved as his for eternity and said yes to marrying another man and giving Danny a father figure, he did come back. Only not really…since he had no memory of her, of loving her, of their years spent in a love to rival the greatest ever felt by anyone. He was back, but he wasn't really. He wasn't her Jason. He came back, and his first stop, his first connection, his first ties…much like his first child…were made with Elizabeth.

Figures. Sam rose from the table and walked over to the window of her mother's lakehouse, staring out at the rustling leaves of the huge oak tree by the water. Who else would be his first stop but the woman who'd darkened their doorstep for years, waiting anxiously in the wings to grab at any loose thread in their relationship that would unravel and break it apart? How many times had they done that dance, played that distasteful triangle? Who needed that tango again?

Sam turned back and picked her phone up from the table where it had just beeped next to the life she'd just signed away. It was a text from Maxie.

' _Where are you? Everything's ready_.'

She closed her eyes and turned her head to the ceiling as she thought about what she was about to do. It was the right thing for everybody. Jason was back but he wasn't her Jason. He'd made his choice and she had made promises to Patrick and Emma. They were counting on her to keep them, and Danny was happy and safe in their new little family. What she'd shared with Jason was a thing of the past that he couldn't even remember, and by all indications, had no interest in revisiting. He was happy. He was where he'd tried to be before, with the woman who had come between them more than once now for obvious reasons. He wasn't her Jason.

She typed ' _on my way,_ ' then grabbed her keys from the table and left the lakehouse, the signed divorce papers sitting where her mother would see them and file them the next day. She had a fitting to get to.

Kristina was on the other side of the door when she swung it open, her keys poised to enter the slot.

"Whoa!" Both sisters startled at the sight of the other.

"Where you off to in such a hurry?"

"Gotta meet Maxie. Catch you later." Sam was already on the way to her car.

"Wait - can I tag?" Kristina quickly locked the door and raced to catch up. "Where?"

"Crimson. She has some dresses for me to try." Sam got behind the wheel and started the engine as her sister jumped in the front.

"Wait, you have a fitting and you didn't invite anybody?" Her voice sounded hurt, then it took on a confused tinge as she asked next, "Whoa, whoa, you're still going to marry Patrick?"

Sam eased the car into traffic and kept her eyes straight ahead, refusing to meet the question in Krissy's, fearing she'd read everything in hers.

"Yes, of course I'm still marrying Patrick."

Kristina knew her big sister, knew that despite the front she often sported when it came to her true feelings for Jason, she was usually reserved but completely in love with the man.

"Sam, are you sure this is what you want? You and Jason are forever - do you think that will ever really change?"

"It _has_ changed. Jason is marrying Elizabeth. He's made it quite clear he's where he wants to be…Danny and I will be fine. Patrick loves us, this is what's best for everyone."

"Yes, we know that Patrick loves you, but do you love him?"

"Of course I love Patrick, Krissy! What's not to love - he's a good man and he's been there for Danny and me. He's giving us a family and a home…what more could I ask for, for my child?"

"I don't know - what you have with Jason?"

" _Had_. What I _had_ with Jason…he's giving that to somebody else now."

Kristina looked at her stubborn, strong, determined sister and though she always tried to hide it, the pain was clear to see for anyone who knew her. She was very much still in love with her husband, it was clear as day…and him being with someone else was killing her. But true to form, Sam would give Jason what she thought he needed and at her own expense. She would do anything for the people she loved, and that's exactly what Kristina could see her doing now….for Jason, for Danny, for Patrick…for everyone but Sam.

They entered the parking garage at the Metro Court and Kristina grabbed onto her sister's arm as she put the car into park.

"I don't think you should do this…not yet, Sam. I think you should talk to Jason again - give yourselves time to come to grips with the new reality before you do something this life changing and permanent.

Sam's eyes softened as she saw the raw concern in her little sister's eyes as she pleaded with her, and her heart ached as it did everytime she was reminded that she was a part of a really wonderful family. She loved them so much. She palmed her sister's cheek softly.

"It really isn't all that permanent, Krissy. I thought Jason and I were…and I just signed that away a few minutes ago. Life changes in a blink, whether you're prepared or not. I can't want somebody who doesn't want me, and I'm really not up for round fifty with Jason and his saint. He's where he wants to be, and I have to do what's best for Danny."

She opened the door and exited the car, rounding on the garage elevator as Kristina fell in line next to her.

"He doesn't remember you, Sam. You know things would be different if he did."

"Would they?" Sam punched in the floor number for Crimson and looked at her sister. "He doesn't remember her either - that didn't stop him from bonding with her, from committing to her. So what does that say about our _connection_?"

Kristina was silent on that one. Sam and Jason had always had the strongest connection she'd ever seen between two people, but it had obviously failed them both when they spent a year together and nothing happened. It was still hard to believe that they hadn't connected instantly, despite his memory loss, given the type of love that they shared.

The doors opened and they were greeted by a smiling Maxie Jones, Junior Editor extraordinaire.

"There you are, finally! Come on - I have the room all set up for you. We have some wonderful new gowns on loan from Milan - you're going to die when you see the ones I picked for you to try! Wait - what am I saying? Okay, _Kristina's_ going to die - you're just going to look at them like they all look the same to you. Seriously, Sam - how can you not care about fashion? You look fabulous in this stuff - I have got to get you to dress up more! It was hard when you were married to the mob and jeans and t-shirt were all you sported, but now that you'll be a surgeon's wife, you'll definitely have more occasions to dress the part. I can't wait to take you on shopping trips to Tokyo and London."

Sam and Kristina followed meekly, exchanging knowing smiles as they allowed Maxie to rave on as Maxie does.

"I thought for sure you'd go running back to that slab of stone and drop Patrick like yesterday's newspaper, but I'm glad to see you're thinking about yourself for a change. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know Jason always loved you like crazy, but you have a different life now…one where you can be the real, beautiful you and dress up like the bombshell you are, more often. All that black you wore when you were with him - it just makes me want to kidnap you like they do with cult members and revamp your brain. Couture, love - embrace it - you look fabulous in it. How great are you going to look in this one?"

The sisters looked at the puffy heap of tulle with it's princess beads in disdain, then looked back at Maxie incredulously. She saw the looks and relented, placing the dress back on the rack.

"Fine - I kinda knew you'd hate that one anyway, but trust me, you will love these."

She was right. It took Sam all of twenty minutes to find the dress she'd marry Patrick in. It was simple and sleek with a modest neckline that fit the new mode she was trying to embrace. A surgeon's wife had to dress a little bit more conservative than she was used to, but she didn't mind. She was a mom now and had new priorities and a new outlook. Long gone were the days where she put Jason and his needs above everything and everyone…where she'd jump on the back of his bike and they'd lose themselves in the open road and in each other. She had a new life now.

Sam was staring at her reflection in the mirror, not overly loving it but not hating it either, when Maxie returned with the seamstress in tow. As the woman took measurements and pinned up the too long hem of the dress, Kristina's stomach growled.

"When you're done, Sissy - let's have breakfast downstairs. Maxie, come join?"

"No, thanks. I don't eat breakfast and I have a million calls to return." She was studying Sam's face in the floor length mirror. "You do like it, right, Sam?"

She lifted her head to meet her friend's worried eyes, and she knew she wasn't talking just about the dress.

"It's fine, Maxie. It's exactly what I need." She wasn't either. This was best for everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason sat at the corner of the bar, nursing the cup of coffee that Carly had poured him, watching his wife as she sat with her sisters at a table in the far corner of the MetroCourt Restaurant. They were engrossed in conversation, and he couldn't help observing that for someone who was less than a couple days away from marrying her new beau, she didn't seem overly happy just then. It struck him for the hundredth time that week, that maybe he wasn't doing the right thing afterall.

It had been a stressful week. He'd settled back into life with Elizabeth and the boys, getting to know Jake with renewed eyes, but even after celebrating the glorious, miraculous return of his son from the dead, something was missing from their happy little haven. As hard as he tried he hadn't quite been able to put his finger on it, and it drove him crazy that he even felt that way. It wasn't Elizabeth…she was as sweet and loving as she'd ever been…maybe even more so.

When he'd first found out he was married to Sam, he hadn't been able to go back to Elizabeth's bed - it had just felt wrong. But after the divorce went through, he no longer had a reason to hold her off and she had gone at it like she was making up for lost time. They made love constantly, and even though he tried to reassure her and show his love in every way he could think of, he knew that it was her way of trying to show him that he'd made the right decision by staying. He knew he had. He loved her very much…but something was still missing.

His head turned to the side when a hand rested on his shoulder. Carly smiled and sat on the stool next to him, reaching for the carafe to refill their coffee cups.

"Sorry that took so long - corporate guests can be the biggest pain in the ass to deal with."

"It's no problem. You weren't gone that long."

She turned to follow his line of sight to the gorgeous brunette in the red sweater and dark blue jeans, her hair pulled back in her favorite ponytail that showed off her high cheekbones and long neck. She was poring over binders with her sisters as they finalized wedding plans.

"Long enough to miss the arrival of our new brunch guests. When did Sam and the girls get here?" She didn't miss the way his shoulders went up in defense of being caught staring.

"They haven't been here long. Listen, I should take off - I have to go see Diane."

"No - stay. Please? I haven't seen you in days - I want to catch up with my best friend. I'm so happy you stopped by to have coffee with me."

He smiled as he looked at the blond who was obviously used to getting her way. "Fine, I'll stay a few more minutes, but then I have to go."

She smiled in triumph then patted his hand where it laid on the bar. "So tell me what's been going on? How're things with _Elizabeth_?"

Jason tried not to be offended by the dry tone she used to say his fiancé's name.

"Fine. She's busy planning our wedding. Things didn't go as planned last time but I'm going to make sure everything's perfect for her this go around." He looked over to Sam again, just in time to see Patrick Drake join them at the table, bending over to kiss her intimately. The sudden stab of piercing red anger that shot through him was as shocking as it was fiery.

"Mmm. I'd offer to help but you'd know I didn't mean it and so would she, so I won't be a hypocrite."

"Carly!"

"Don't _Carly_ me, Jason! You're making the biggest mistake of your life and I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't point it out to you. _Sam,_ is the love of your life - Elizabeth knows it, everybody knows it. The fact that you can't remember that shouldn't force you into marriage. Why are you letting her drag you down the isle before the ink even dries on your divorce papers? I'll tell you why - it's because Elizabeth knows that once you remember, she won't stand a devil's chance in hell, that's why! She wants to hurry up and lock you down so by the time you remember Sam, it will already be too late…you will have already committed yourself to her and her boys and we all know, Jason Morgan won't go back on his word."

"Honestly, I'm getting really sick of you always talking bad about Elizabeth, Carly. It's making it so I'm finding it hard to be around you when you're like this!"

"Like what - truthful? You should be flattered, Jason - if you could remember everything you'd know that's not a normal state for me. Except for when it comes to you. I always tell you the truth, and the truth is that Elizabeth is not the woman for you. She never has been!"

Jason looked at his friend with skepticism. He couldn't remember a lot, but in the time he'd known Carly, he knew that ' _always_ ' was a bit much for her when it came to telling the truth.

"Always? Really?"

She slapped his hand really hard. "Shut up! When it counts, yes! And it counts now, when you're placing your life and that of your children on the line by marrying the wrong woman." She pointed in Sam's direction where she was smiling at something Patrick said. "See how you can't take your eyes off her? **_That's_** your soulmate! That's the woman who knows and understands you in a way that defies everything - including me! And that's saying a helluva lot, believe me. You live for her and to make her happy, and that little boy you have together is the child you've wanted with her almost since the day you met. You don't need to give up everything, Jason!"

"I'm not giving anything up! Sam is happy - look at her - she has a fiancé and a life that doesn't include me. She doesn't need me Carly."

He wasn't sure what he'd said to set off the lightbulb he saw appear in her eyes, until her next words.

"And Elizabeth and her boys do."

"That's not what I meant - it's not what I said."

"You didn't have to. I see it clearer now - you're being her knight in shining armor, riding to her rescue - _again_! At the expense of Sam's happiness and of your own - **_again_**!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing that."

"Yes you are! Just like you did when she got pregnant with Jake! You were convinced that you had to marry her to give your son a stable home, so you pushed aside your love for Sam and sacrificed yourself at the altar of Saint Elizabeth, **_and she let you_**! You're doing it again right now…you feel obligated to marry Elizabeth and give her boys a father."

"I love Elizabeth!"

"Yes, you always have…but you're **_in love_** with Sam! You've always been _in love_ with **_Sam_** \- she's _it_ for you - and trust me, Elizabeth is quite aware of that fact. This whole damn town knows about your love for Sam!"

Jason stood up from the stool and pushed his coffee cup further onto the bar. This conversation was pointless and starting to make him angry.

"I'm not listening to any more of this. I need you to give Elizabeth the respect she deserves as the woman I'm going to marry and I'm not going to keep defending that to you or to anyone else. I gotta go."

Carly reached for his arm. "Oh, come on - don't leave angry. I'm your best friend and if I don't tell you these things, who will? I don't want to see you hurt by this woman, Jason - not anymore."

"Why would she hurt me? She doesn't have a malicious bone in her body."

Carly scoffed loudly at that. "She has quite a few of those actually, but I'm not gonna go there - you're already mad. All I ask is that you think about things some more, before you do something you can't take back Jason." She stood to face him, pleading with her eyes. "Before you give up everything for nothing, count to ten… _please_!"

Jason stood there for a full minute looking at his friend, hearing her words and hating every one of them, even as something she said rang true deep inside of him. Grudgingly, he dropped a peck on her cheek, still angry, but knowing in his gut that the brashness was her way of trying to look out for him. He could never understand the dislike she had for Elizabeth, but he relented that she may have her reasons that he just didn't remember.

"I'm good, Carly. I'll bring you your invitation in a couple days." He moved towards the elevator, unable to stop himself from looking over at the striking brunette, who's sweet, rich laugh echoed as it mocked his retreat. She sounded so happy. He was doing the right thing letting her go…so why did seeing her with another man cut him so life piercingly deep?

The hairs on the back of Sam's neck had been on alert since the moment she sat down, and she knew immediately from experience…he was there. She had refused to scan the room for him, afraid of meeting his eyes, afraid of seeing him with _her_ …so she'd kept her attention on her sisters, catching up on what was happening in their lives and finding out their new interests.

Molly was excited about classes at PCU and a change in her major to PolyScience that she was considering. Kristina was less enthusiastic about her college experience, and wanted Sam to help her convince her parents to let her take a semester off from Wesleyan. Immediately smelling a rat, both Sam and Molly tried to get her to spill.

"Okay, what did you do?" When she tried to look innocent, Sam raised her brow in warning. "Spill!"

"There's nothing to spill really." They both weren't buying it so she sagged in her chair. "Okay, okay - there may have been a situation that got a little bit out of control and I may get suspended."

"What?" Molly was shocked, even as she knew how impulsive her sister could be. "Kristina - what happened?"

There was a moment of silence when she was obviously considering whether or not to tell them the full story.

"Alright, I'll tell you but you have to promise not to say anything to anybody - especially not to Mom or Dad."

"It's that bad, Krissy? I don't know if I'm comfortable keeping something serious from Alexis. Just how serious are we talking?" Sam was growing more concerned about her sister's welfare than the constant and persistent prickling at her nape.

She squeezed her eyes shut and ground through her teeth, "I may have come on to a professor and got in trouble for it, and there could be some consequences." She reopened her eyes to gauge their reactions. "Please you guys, Mom _cannot_ find out."

"Kristina!"

Both Sam and Molly were reprimanding in the sounding of her name but neither were truly shocked. Kristina was impulsive and daring, she would always get in some trouble or other and then worry about the fallout afterwards.

"What? It's college - you're supposed to explore and experience new things."

"Yes, _things_ \- not professors who are in charge of your grade and your future. Seriously, what were you thinking?" Sam closed her eyes and pushed her head back against the chair, picturing Alexis' reaction to the news.

"She _wasn't_ thinking, that's the point."

Just then Patrick got off the elevator and turned towards them, his face instantly transformed into a huge smile at spotting Sam. She waved in response then whispered, "We'll table this for now but we're going to talk more about it later."

Sam smiled in greeting and returned Patrick's kiss but the stab to her heart told her Jason was watching, and for some odd reason, she felt as though she was betraying their love. She knew she was being silly. They were divorced and with other people and she was sure he wasn't being a saint in Elizabeth's bed…but it didn't stop her from feeling unfaithful. Much like she'd felt in bed with Patrick, unable to make love to him until after she'd signed the divorce papers, and even then, it had taken some prodding and guilt laying on his part to get her to relent. She could count on one hand the number of times they'd been together since then, and each time, even though she enjoyed being with Patrick, it was all she could do to not call him by Jason's name. It almost slipped out once, and she'd had to quickly turn into it into saying, ' _j-ust like that_ ,' thankful that she'd caught herself in time. She loved Patrick and he was an attentive lover, but nobody made her feel like Jason did. Nobody reached the depths and took her to the heights that he'd sent her to, and Sam knew that she was in for an interesting time of getting her house in order to be able to spend a lifetime with someone other than the incredible lover and lifetime friend she'd found in Jason Morgan.

A lifetime. Whenever it hit her that was what she was promising Patrick, she'd come close to needing one of Alexis' brown paperbags. Could she really do it? Could she really spend the next fifty years loving someone else, while the truest part of her heart stayed hidden away forever? Whenever she looked at Patrick and Emma and Danny, she was able to put her doubts aside and remind herself why she'd be able to, to remind herself that they were worth it.

She knew when Jason left the restaurant, even though she hadn't looked at him once. The hairs were no longer standing on end and her heart was no longer pounding out of her chest. It proved true when Carly stopped by their table.

"Hi everyone. How's brunch - everything to your liking?"

"The smoked salmon frittata is delish, Carly. Best I've tasted." Molly returned Carly's warm, wide smile.

"The bottomless Bellinis are where it's at for me." Kristina held up an empty champagne glass and tapped it to get the waitress's attention.

"You go easy on those young lady. You're not the one driving, right?"

"Nope - that's me." Sam patted the pocket that held the car keys as she too returned Carly's smile. Unbelievable that they really had become friends after all the fights, and brawls, and mud slinging in their past.

"Good. Sam, can I borrow you for a minute?" Carly looked apologetically at Patrick, "I'll send her right back, I promise."

Sam got up and followed Carly to the bar where the blond gestured for her to sit. Sam knew she was about to meddle.

"Carly, it's none of your business."

"I didn't even say anything yet!"

"You don't need to. It's written all over your face…you disapprove of what Jason and I have decided and you want us to change our minds."

"Fine - you already know, so what's stopping you?"

"Look - everything is different, okay? Jason is not the same person who left us four years ago, and neither am I, for that matter. We want different things now, so let it go, okay?"

" ** _Bullshit_**!" She crossed her arms and leant towards Sam, "You both make me so dam frustrated I want to shake the shit out of both of you. If you both weren't so stubborn you'd see that you need to take the time to reconnect, instead of rushing headlong into relationships with other people you both know damn well won't last!"

"Excuse me? I resent that…don't imply that my marriage to Patrick is doomed - you don't know anything of the sort!"

"Resent all you want - it doesn't change the fact that you and Jason are made for each other and you're just dragging other people into situations that have no way in hell of succeeding."

"That's enough, Carly! I'm committed to Patrick and our life together, and I fully intend to do my part to make it work between us. I really don't appreciate you projecting your fantasies about Jason and me onto us."

Carly brushed her hair back from her forehead in frustration. "Oh my gawd, you're both so damn stubborn! Sam, this is not the first time that Jason has forgotten his life…why can't you do what you did last time and be there, help him remember…help him remember you?"

"Because circumstances are different - just like we're different. He does't care to remember! Last time he asked questions and he tried like hell to remember me so he didn't have to leave. Jason now wants to be with Elizabeth and live his safe, happy little life with her…let him Carly. He's a grown man, he gets to do what he wants."

"But Jason doesn't _know_ what he wants, Sam. Elizabeth is in his ear telling him her fairytale version of his life and choosing for him…we have to break him out from under her spell, don't you see that?"

"So **_we_** can be the ones choosing for him instead? Honestly, Carly, what I see is Jason living the life he's always wanted with the woman he missed out on. He's made his choice and he's happy where he is. Now, I have to get back to Patrick, I'm being rude standing over here talking about my ex-husband, when my fiancé is waiting for me. Bye, Carly."

Sam turned to walk back to her table, the word _ex-husband_ echoing in her head and ripping a tear straight through her heart. That was never a word she'd ever wanted to use to describe Jason Morgan, but while they weren't looking, that's exactly who he'd become. Time to face and accept the inevitable.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thank you so much for reading, and an additional thank you for reviewing. It's funny, when I read comments online that say he only went to Sam because Liz lied, I often laugh out loud. The writers chose to make her lie, which was no surprise, because it's what she does best...but even if she HAD told the truth or hadn't found out to begin with, it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference. He'd have stayed at first because she was what he knew at the time, and Sam had a man...but it wouldn't have taken long before those two started gravitating towards each other, like they always do. JaSam are endgame and their love is a beautiful, beautiful thing that's an equal beauty to watch and to write.**_

 _ **Do enjoy, and leave a comment when you can - they are very much appreciated!**_

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"What'd that bag ever do to you?"

Jason heard the question and that's when he realized he was pounding the crap out of the punching bag. Using both hands to steady it, he stopped to look over his shoulder, where he found Sonny Corinthos eyeing him with curiosity, wrapping his own hands in preparation for a workout.

"What's that?"

Jason ripped off the boxing gloves and grabbed the bottle of water that was sitting on the ledge near the window, taking a swig as he listened to the man's soft chuckle.

"Nothing…it just seems like you had something on your mind. Want to talk about it?"

Jason took another swig of cool water before responding, "No offense, but you've never had any use for me before. I know you and I were supposed to be tight once, but I still don't remember a damn thing about my life, so you're still essentially a stranger to me. I don't see what we'd have to talk about."

"I didn't mean any offense. You just looked like you could use an ear - sorry if I overstepped." Sonny thumped one hand into the palm of the other after he finished taping.

Going back to whaling on the bag, Jason was soon lost again in a pounding rhythm as he tried to block out the burning image of Patrick Drake all over Sam, but it did no good as the more he hit, the more the images seemed to crop up, as his imagination worked overtime to see them in even more compromising positions in the doctor's home. In the doctor's bed.

When the raining uppercuts and side punches robbed him of breath and left him dripping in sweat, he heard Sonny's voice break through the stupor again.

"You're really going to punch a hole in that if you don't let up a little."

He grudgingly eased back again to look at the man in complete annoyance. "Am I in your way or something?"

Sonny wasn't put out by the unmasked resentment. "No, not at all. I just feel sorry for the poor bag, that's all."

With his chest heaving, Jason moved from the bag and grabbed the jump rope laying off to the side.

"You done with that?"

"Be my guest!" He closed his eyes as his feet left the ground and he jumped to a steady pace back and forth and side to side, crisscrossing the rope in front of him every few sets, as his ears picked up the sound of Sonny going at the bag.

Her dark, curled tresses were spread across the stark white pillow as she laid there in voluptuous, naked glory, her seductive smokey eyes and beckoning, crooked forefinger calling him to her as the amorous smile curved her luscious, delicious lips. She was waiting for him, yearning for him to ravish her beautiful body, and as he complied and his equally naked form leant over the bed to get to her, Jason's eyes flew open when he recognized the man as himself, felt the burning, searing hunger he had in his loins and heart when he lowered to devour her.

That was no conjured image. He stopped suddenly as he realized, this was a memory! He was remembering making love to Sam, at the penthouse, the feelings he had at that time coursing through him now with a raw passion that robbed him of the breath jumping rope hadn't. He'd never felt want like that in the entire year he'd been living in darkness, never felt love that astoundingly acute and all encompassing!

"You sure you're alright, man?"

Sonny had eased up on the bag and was staring at him in curiosity again as he just stood there, mesmerized by his visions, his chest heaving uncontrollably as he clamored to breathe. He gave himself another minute, then he grabbed the gym bag near his feet and headed for the door.

"Jason!"

He stopped at the sound of his name, turning to face Sonny.

"There's no expiration on that offer."

He turned and continued out of the gym and got behind the wheel of his SUV. There was so much adrenaline still coursing through him that he desperately wanted to keep hitting, settling instead for driving to the footbridge, where he jogged the area around it until he felt somewhat expelled. He seemed to end up there a lot lately, his mind constantly ridden by thoughts and emotions he had no place to put, and the bridge providing a comforting view of the town that he often found soothing.

Coming to a stop, Jason bent over at the waist as he palmed his upper thighs and struggled to regulate his breathing, more images of Sam in various stages and situations crashing into view - in bed, on the pool table, wailing at the punching bag, poring over her laptop, burning chicken. The one constant in all of them - she looked relaxed and happy. She was the Sam he'd hung out with over the past year - frownless and free - the complete opposite of the Sam he'd seen since his reveal - serious, angry, confused…sad.

He'd done that to her. Jason thought of all the times he'd talked with Sam about her life with her husband, how she'd always shared some happy memory of the man she'd loved and openly adored - the deep, lifelong emotions she'd held in her heart for him, evident to the most unseeing. He remembered the words she'd uttered the day of their anniversary when Jake Doe stood in for the impromptu vow renewal at Noodle Buddha - ' _Jason would walk through fire, on broken glass to get back to me and Danny_.'

But he hadn't walked through fire to fight for her. He found out they were married and he gave up without so much as a pretend tug of war for her affections. He allowed another man to keep wooing her, to live with her, to continue to love her…despite the feelings inside him that were tugging at him to pay attention, to find answers before he acted. He hadn't fought to recover the memories that were flirting with him now, not a single one of the treasured bits she'd shared with him about the man she'd loved above all others. His heart belongs to another and so does hers - they agreed. So why now, was she plaguing his mind this way? Why was she all he thought about, dreamed about, saw during wake and in sleep? And the staggering emotions that flooded him with each flitting memory of her - why were they deeper than anything he's felt in his life? Deeper than anything he'd thought possible? Had he made a colossal mistake and given up exploring something life altering?

Finally able to catch his breath, Jason walked up to the bridge and took up his usual stance, thinking hard on his life with the woman he loved, his sweet, nurturing, Elizabeth. He certainly did love her, she was good to him and she returned his feelings without reservation…but the depth of what he'd felt during those memories of Sam - the fire, the passion…the comparison was simply not there with his lady love. How the hell was he going to figure this out?

He'd go home - that's how. Everything he sought, everything he needed was there…it had to be. Elizabeth was the choice he'd made and his heart, his head…circumstances…would not have led him to her otherwise. She was perfect. He was lucky to be chosen by her. Yes, he'd go home and appreciate the family his damaged self had blessedly fallen into.

Stopping at the florist on his way home, Jason wanted to bring a little bit of sunshine to the woman who made his heart smile. He turned the corner for the little shop and stopped, easing back to the side of the building and out of sight, just as Sam and Maxie exited the tuxedo store next to the flower shop. They stopped in front to pull their gloves on and Jason gave himself a mental kick for the juvenile way he was hiding from her…but he didn't trust himself not to say something that would expose his current state of turmoil to her very keen eyes.

"I can't believe you have me out here in these streets tracking down a cumberbun. Are you happy now?" Sam pulled her gloves on and tucked cold hands inside the pockets of her coat, shivering as she waited for her friend to do the same.

"The one the designer sent with Spinelli's tux was the wrong shade. I've been calling for two days and this shop is the only place that had one. Spinelli will be happy - he wants to look dapper for your wedding." Maxie adjusted the collar of her coat as the wind started to pick up around them.

Sam chuckled softly. "Spinelli's always had a thing for cumberbuns. He wanted Jason to wear one - remember when you were planning that elaborate wedding that neither one of us wanted?"

"You mean when I exhausted days and days planning the perfect nuptials for two of my closest friends, and you ran off and got hitched without all of us? Yes, I do remember…I'll never forget it to my dying day!" She pointed a leather gloved forefinger at Sam threateningly, "You and my former cousin in law better not try that after everything I've put into this. I'll never forgive you this time."

Sam laughed out loud as she stepped around Maxie towards the car. "Like you forgave me the last time! It's not my fault you go overboard and don't listen to anybody but the deranged voices swimming around in your head."

Maxie turned to follow. "Hey, that's not a _no_! Sam, you wouldn't!"

"Relax, Maxie. Patrick wants the big shinding just as much as you do - he'd look at me like I was crazy if I even suggested we elope."

Sam came to a stop at the car door, her mind's eye wandering to a time when she was one of the only two people in the world…blissful and happy in the security of the one person she thought she'd ever love. When he held her in his arms after their I do's at the Yis, it was the happiest she'd ever been her entire life. That moment, when her world had taken her from a McCall to a Morgan - that one, blissful, unmatched moment when his lips sought hers to relay the promises of forever with the two of them against the world, had been the highlight of the most perfect thing that had ever happened to her.

Jason eased himself around the corner and watched the friends get in the car that soon pushed out of the parking lot, his heart leaping from his chest in the crazy thumping rhythm it had been taking on everytime he saw her lately. He was transfixed to the spot, memories of a cumberbun running through his mind.

 _Spinelli had options for him to choose from - varying colors and shapes that he held up proudly, as if the thing was going to make it anywhere near him on his wedding day to Sam. Then he had that pink tie too that he…no, that was a different occasion! Sam was standing in that room laden with chairs and decorated for something special, wearing that slinky, sexy black number that bared her delicate back that all day…all through the hoopla…had been enticing his fingers and lips to roam the silky, sexy skin. He was slowly looping the thing around her beautiful neck, where it looked so much sexier than it had on him…especially after he got her back to the penthouse and stripped her of everything…but that wonderful, pink tie._

Gasping for air, Jason remembered how he'd never loved a tie more. He'd never liked a tie period… _until Sam wore a pink one_.

Using a thumb to press hard to the spot above one eye, he tried to bring the pictures into clearer view. One minute he could see a vivid image or event, the next everything shimmered back into haze and distortion - then complete blackness. What the hell was happening to him? Why couldn't he just remember?

Sam was alone when she got home. The kids were with friends and Patrick was on duty at the hospital, so she was left to her own devices for the rest of the afternoon. She tried getting some work done, but couldn't keep her mind on the case for very long. Snapping the laptop shut in frustration, she rose from the dining table and moved slowly around the familiar yet strange, room, ending up at the mantel that held the photo of Robin and Emma. She loved that little girl so much. She was the sweetest little thing, with a heart as big as she was, and Sam couldn't be happier to be considered her family. She looked keenly at the woman holding Emma and tilted her head slightly to the side, considering the wide, happy smile that Robin Scorpio-Drake had always sported. She was a good person and an even better doctor, and Sam had to admit she often felt out of place in her home.

She moved over to the couch, slowly casing everything the room held. It still felt like Robin's home that she was just visiting. As welcome as Patrick had always attempted to make her feel, Sam thought to herself how she'd always think of it as that. There was only one place, one haven, one retreat, that had ever truly been home for her. Even when she'd bought her condo with money earned by her own two blistering hands, it never held the extent of belonging and comfort for her that the penthouse always did…nothing had.

The penthouse. Funny how neither former occupant, who once, never thought of living anyplace else for the rest of their lives, lived there now. Neither her nor the man who'd made it the safest sanctuary for her, called it home anymore. Sam wondered if he ever thought about it, thought about their incredible time there…a time that often stood frozen for her - unmatched in warmth and cloaking comfort. Did he ever miss it…like she did? Of course not. _She_ sported the memories of those wonderful days and electric nights, those ethereal moments and surreal couplings…they were hers alone now.

Jason walked through the front door of his home and kicked himself instantly. Dammit - he'd forgotten the flowers. Laying his gym bag down by the couch, he straightened up slowly, just as the living room seemed to shimmer into a different time. Elizabeth was there - she was smiling at the playpen where their son laid quietly, as Jason watched them from the porch. This was his family…Elizabeth had given him a son of his very own. He needed to stay away to keep them safe - he shouldn't even be there at all…but he had to see them. He needed to see the life he'd created, even as death tried to drown him everywhere he turned…taking his estranged but somewhat loved father, his angel of a little sister…after he'd already been robbed of his beloved grandmother, his…

"Jason, you're home!"

Elizabeth came up the stairs from the basement and laid the hamper on the couch, rushing to him when the look on his face cried out his pain. "Jason - what's the matter?"

He looked at the woman he loved, her image clear to him but her voice sounding distant, as if she was fading.

"Did we lose a child?"

He could see himself holding a little girl and he'd just left Elizabeth outside the door. The way he was holding her, his heart unbearably ripped to pieces, his eyes clouded by aching tears. Her tiny, perfect little form would never take a breath…why? Why did death play so cruel a joke on them? Why would this perfect, perfect angel never show her eyes?

"What? No…I mean, Jake - but Jason, he came back, remember? Jake is right upstairs!" She grabbed his arms in alarm at the pain that wounded his eyes and hardened his face.

Jason moved restlessly towards the dining area then turned back to her, his mind still jumbled but unmistakably filled with death and pain.

"No, no - not Jake. A little girl…there was the most perfect, beautiful, little dark haired angel…but she would never open her eyes. She would never take her first breath…am I dreaming it? Was it not real?"

"Jason, you've never had a daughter. I would remember if…"

He heard her voice trail and instantly moved to her. "Tell me."

"Sam lost a daughter. She wasn't yours."

Her voice turned cold and he understood - the death of a child is a cold, hard thing to process. His mind opened wider to showcase his own grief and tears when his babygirl died.

"She was mine." The whisper was soft and low, but the need to claim her felt strong and important. "She was my daughter."

Elizabeth sighed in exasperation and started folding the boys' laundry. "She wasn't - she was your best friend's. Sam has gone through half the men in this town, including Sonny - she got pregnant by him when he was still married to Carly."

Sam had an affair with a married Sonny? That somehow didn't sound anything like the loyal, proud, independent woman he'd known for the last year. He listened quietly as he watched Elizabeth grab and toss the clothes around, her voice grating in frustration and reserved anger.

"Why are none of your memories of us, huh? We have a past too - why can't you remember anything about how good we were together? How much we loved each other and always wanted to be together?"

The guilt crept in as he saw what he was doing to her. She didn't deserve it…all she was doing was giving him love.

"I did - I had a memory of us just now."

His heart ached at the hope that sprung to her eyes as she spun to face him, her smile breaking radiantly to transform her angelic face.

"You did? Why didn't you say anything? What did you remember?"

He told her about the marvel he felt with her, watching their son - about the previous memory he'd had about time spent at her studio painting the walls, while she painted the world. How beautiful she'd always been to him - how he'd always thought she deserved better than a damaged, dangerous mobster.

When she wrapped her arms around him, smiling and happy again, Jason hugged her tightly and squeezed her body…even as he squeezed tighter his mind to let go of the picture it had engraved behind his eyes. The smiling, happy brunette with the beautiful, piercing brown eyes that bored into his soul and saw through to his heart, was clamping securely to its epicenter and taking his mind by storm. Sam Morgan was burning everywhere in him.


	4. Chapter 4

The gym had fast become his best friend and the place where he seemed to end up the most. As Jason whaled at the punching bag that had become his release, he cleared his mind of everything that was bogging him down. He didn't want to think about home, not the challenges that came with his new world, and certainly not who he'd cut off from his old. He whaled until he and the bag were all there was, the sounding echo of each fist rolling into a rhythm set by his twisting body, his mind taken for the ride.

After ninety minutes of high intensity, high impacted movements that left him spent and wet, he relented to ease up and go home. The gym was closing early, so he really had no choice…back to dodging bullets and putting out a joy he'd had to practically fake for weeks now.

Thanksgiving was the following day and they'd been invited to dinner at the Quartermaine mansion, which Jason remembered as soon as he walked through the door and the delicious aroma of homemade apple pie wafted from the kitchen. Elizabeth was home.

"Hey, there you are!" She emerged from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel as she neared him in the middle of the room. "Good workout?"

"Yea, pretty good." He returned her quick kiss then pointed towards the stairs. "I'm going to wash this funk off." He made it to the first step and stopped when she called his name.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea - fine! I'll be right down."

Taking the stairs two at a time, he tried again to lay the thoughts aside. He was home with the woman he'd spend his life with…he needed to find some way to lay his troubling, resurfacing memories and ensuing doubts to rest, before they festered and threatened his newfound happiness.

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Sam rang the bell at the Quartermaine's and waited with Danny for the door to be opened, startled after it did.

"Daddy!"

Jason swooped down and scooped Danny up in his arms and greeted him with a warm smile and huge hug.

"Hey, Buddy! Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Daddy! Is Jake here too?"

"He sure is, he's right over there with Cam and Aiden." He placed Danny down inside the foyer and pointed to where the boys sat in the far corner of the living room, engrossed in a board game, watching as his younger son ran over to join them and was welcomed warmly.

"Jason."

The cool tone that she used to say his name is what lived between them now. He'd done serious damage to the budding friendship they'd developed, and it was noticeably replaced by cool indifference whenever she forced herself to interact with him. Why did that hurt so much?

"Hi Sam. Happy Thanksgiving."

"I didn't realize you were going to be here." She entered the foyer and laid the seasonal bouquet on the table near them so she could remove her coat, brushing him off when he moved to help her. "I suppose I should have."

But she didn't think he'd show up for dinner at the family he'd had no use for before he disappeared, to an occasion that was bound to be crowded, nonetheless. She'd usually have to twist his arm to get him there. But that was before. A lot of things were _before_. He was, by all accounts, a completely different person now…a contented family man living a quiet, sublime new existence. Of course he'd bring his new family to be with his mother for Thanksgiving.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Sam."

Sam looked to the sound of the proud matriarch to that new family, as she made her way over, turning from the coat rack to scout the woman who couldn't stand for Jason to have two words for her without her present. Clingy, insecure, territorial Elizabeth Webber - she'd certainly seen _her_ before.

"The same to you." Sam picked up the bouquet then turned from the sight of Elizabeth clinging tightly to Jason's arm, instantly marking her territory for Sam's benefit. "Excuse me, I'm going to find Monica." She tried to turn away but was stopped.

"Where's Patrick? Your fiancé isn't spending Thanksgiving with you?" The sweet nectar dripping from her voice would've fooled anyone who didn't truly know her, into believing the question was an innocent one, a category befitting Jason, as the look on his face placed him squarely there.

"Patrick is parking the car." She moved to turn away again and was stopped, this time by Jason.

"Danny looks really happy. He's doing okay?"

Looking first at her son, then back at the two in front of her without so much as the hint of a smile for either of them, Sam told him bluntly, "You know, if you came around sometimes and acted like you were his father, now that you _know_ that you are…you'd probably have no need to ask someone else that question."

Cutting her eyes at the instant hurt that washed the blue depths of his, Sam turned from them both and went in search of Monica, whom she found milling around the kitchen. She stayed there making small talk until they both exited with trays laden with appetizers, relieved to find Patrick had finally joined the ensemble. Maybe they could get this show on the road so she could fulfill her duty of bringing the grandchild to visit grandma on Thanksgiving, as quickly as possible, and get away from the stifling air that consumed the room.

"You know, Sam, that really wasn't called for. Jason is trying his best with a difficult situation - you don't need to beat him over the head with the fact that he's Danny's father. He knows his responsibilities - he's wonderful with _my_ boys." One of the two people she was hoping to avoid for the rest of the evening had purposely sought her out near the buffet table lined with pizza.

Laying down the tray she was holding, Sam turned to the hideous pink sweater clad gloater.

"I can talk to the father of my child, about my child, whenever, and however I choose. When my four-year-old comes to me to ask sadly why his dad hasn't visited him in days, that becomes a problem for me, and I will express to Jason what I damn well please."

"This situation is new to him and it's very hard on everybody - he's doing the best he can."

"That's easy for you to say, living under the same roof, where he's readily available to you and your family. My son would like to spend time with his dad - he's not unreasonable wanting that and you will **_not_** scold me."

"No, he's not." Jason sidled up to Elizabeth and touched her arm gently when she would've responded, trying to make sure the situation escalated no further, after seeing the look on Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam - I should've been around more. I just didn't want to confuse Danny and I wasn't sure how much time you'd let me spend with him without it seeming intrusive. Of course I want to see my son more."

"Then stop talking about it and do something about the way you're making him feel left out. I told you from day one that you can see Danny anytime you want - stop making lame ass excuses and just do better."

Sam brushed past them both and sat next to Patrick on the couch, who wrapped an arm around her, instantly cocooning her in safety.

"Everything okay?" She followed his lazy gaze to where she'd left Jason and Elizabeth and nodded.

"Yeah, everything's fine." She looked up into the eyes of the man who clearly loved her, wallowing in the depth of what she saw there, even as her broken heart hurt at the lack of that love in the blue eyes she'd drowned in so many times before. This man truly loved her, wanted a home and a life with her, wanted to father her precious little boy and surround them with happiness and security…so why wasn't it enough anymore? Why wasn't it everything like it had been with ' _him_?' Why had this stopped filling her up?

She laid her head to his chest and allowed her eyes to settle on her son playing with his big brother near the fire, and even as her heart swelled with the love it burst with for her child, she worried that she might not be doing the right thing for him afterall. Just a few months before, she'd stopped questioning and had resigned herself to moving ahead to align their futures with Patrick's and Emma's, and it had been a good decision. It had been solid and adult…so why did she now question it every minute of every day? Why was she still consumed with thoughts of a man who didn't want her, who'd made a clear choice that wasn't her? Why was she less and less sure of the steps she was taking, the closer and closer she got to the day she'd pledge herself to another forever?

Sam snuggled closer to Patrick, feeling his arms tighten around her, trying desperately to retrieve that sense of security and fortitude she'd felt there for months before the big reveal, failing miserably as the future she'd envisioned got blurrier and blurrier before her. She was constantly awash with uncertainty lately, a state that was most unwelcome with her son's future at stake. She wouldn't chase a man who clearly didn't want her, who wasn't the least bit interested in what they had built and held sacred between them for so long…she'd never again leave her heart unattended and open to Jason Morgan's callous, indifferent treatment.

Jason couldn't stop watching her, not when he caught himself doing it, not even when Elizabeth caught him at it too. He couldn't help it, she enticed him in a new way that left him nervous and anticipatory for more. Her sweet smile at something Drake whispered in her ear churned his blood and angered his spirit, leaving him hating the sight of the good-looking doctor's too close proximity to her. When had his harmless fascination with the tiny, spritely PI bloomed into this rearing, achy thirst?

He hated seeing her with Patrick Drake more and more - hated knowing that the man shrouded her in comfort and solace, when each interaction with him left her with anger and doubt, and although he knew his emotions were out of place, given their very real circumstances, Jason couldn't stop them from running through him. Moving over to the well stocked bar, he grabbed the bottle of tequila and took a deep, deep breath. He needed a really stiff drink.

Elizabeth watched him at the bar from her corner by the curios, the conversation with Monica fading into the background, drowned out by the screaming voices she couldn't quiet anymore. She raised her chin and struggled to restrain the rising anxiety that was spreading rakishly all through her. He was slipping away again. A blind man couldn't miss the growing fascination he was showing in the woman, and she, knowing the signs to look for after their last go around, had died a little bit inside ever since they first started showing. She knew them well…the way his head rose at the mere sound of her name or voice, his keen interest in any and everything that concerned her, his soft defense of anything said in his presence that appeared the least bit offensive to her. She knew well, the far away, soft, adoring look that transformed his usually stern, marbled features, whenever his mind was awash with thoughts of her. Lately, he'd worn that look more than often.

Nothing she did, nothing she offered, kept his mind off her anymore…not the elaborate home cooked meals she poured her heart into, not the thoughtful little gifts she picked up almost daily, not even the constant, sweaty, mind blowing romps she was always instigating, that he'd turned down more often than not in recent days. She'd thought for sure this time…with her having the home advantage and all the cards stacked neatly in her favor, with him holding no memories of the woman, that being engaged to _her_ , finally…she'd be home free. She'd been convinced she would be able to use all her wiles and every trick in her arsenal to keep him satisfied and with her this time. He was home. This is where he'd always wanted to be, this was the life he was meant to share with her and their son, with all her boys. He was the father that she was owed for them…caring, devoted, responsible, present. He was hers - he chose her, chose to stay…so why couldn't he just stay and be happy with all they had? He wanted this!

She looked to where the woman sat in the arms of her close friend - another good man who'd blindly fallen prey to her snake charm, another fallen by the wayside, for the likes of her. If she had her way, Sam Morgan would be tarred, feathered, and chased out of Port Charles on the first boat back to the hell she escaped from.

"Elizabeth, dear - what's the matter? Why do you suddenly seem so sad?"

She turned back to Monica, who's concern only made her feel worse. Jason is the one who should be sitting with her, comforting and allaying her concerns. Hell, she shouldn't have any concerns to begin with - not when it came to Sam Morgan - not anymore.

"I'm fine Monica. I'm just a little bit tired - long day."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you probably worked this morning too. I understand if you want to call it a night - thank you so much for bringing Jake over. You don't mind if he spends the night with his grandma, do you?"

She scoured the room and found Jake with Danny and Aiden, drowning another slice of apple pie in whipped cream. Smiling through the pain, she forced a nod. "Of course - I'm sure he'll love that." Then the lightbulb brightened and she quickly excused herself to get her cellphone from her pocketbook. A quick call to Grams got the desired results - she'd drop Cam and Aiden at her house on the way home, leaving her night free to get Jason's mind back on her again. She needed to step her game up - she had to stop the slipping, by any means - before she found herself playing violin to the sad, sad Jason and Sam dance once again.

She found him still at the bar, nursing a tall glass of something silver. Slipping an arm around his waist, she pulled out her most radiant smile.

"What are you doing all the way over here by yourself?" She took his glass and sipped, coughing when the burn hit her throat vengefully. "I don't know how you drink that stuff." _Why_ he was drinking was the more telling worry, something he did very infrequently, usually.

"Warms the blood." Jason eased the glass from her hand and took a healthy swig.

"Well, I have a much better way to warm you up tonight." She circled his waist completely and brightened her smile. "Grams is taking the boys and I have something special planned for my big one."

The smile he returned felt forced…it was forced. He really wasn't in the mood for another round of incensed love making, but what choice did he have? She had every right to expect the man she was spending her life with to want her…and he did want her, but lately it seemed like she wanted him _all the time_ , which was proving exhausting. Truthfully, he'd normally have no complaints, except that his mind had been too troubled, too absent, to enjoy her the way she deserved. It left him feeling guilty and disloyal. This could be his chance to make it up to her.

"Sounds perfect." He knew he'd said the right thing when the light appeared in her hopeful eyes. He'd really not been there for her the way he should be, and he needed to change that…for her…he needed to be better for her.

In a flash she tipped up and planted her lips to his, drinking from him with fervor, catching him off guard. He didn't move, kissed her back when all he wanted was to get back to the drink in his hand. What he'd missed was Elizabeth had caught sight of Sam looking their way.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam tucked Danny into bed and laid down ontop of his comforter, stroking his hair before she kissed the tip of his sleeping nose. He hadn't awaken since he fell asleep on the drive home, and as she laid staring at the tiny replica of the man she currently couldn't stand being around, she rued for Danny's state of peace and contentment. To be carefree and happy like that again. She knew part of what had made him so happy tonight was his father asking her permission to pick him up for breakfast the next morning. Her little boy was always over the moon at the prospect of spending time with him, something Sam recalled feeling herself in times past. The man had an enigmatic presence that had people seeking him out, later hating to have to leave.

"Hey - you coming to bed?"

She looked to the door at Patrick's whisper that came just as her eyelids were about to close. Sam realized with a start that she'd forgotten he'd said he'd wait up in bed for her - she was getting ready to fall asleep with her babyboy.

Kissing Danny once more, she eased herself from his bed and joined Patrick where he'd backed out into the hallway.

"Sorry…he's the most irresistible little magnet."

"That's okay…but it's my turn."

He took both her hands and walked backwards, pulling her eagerly towards their bedroom, smiling widely as his eyes coaxed her to join him.

She really wasn't in the mood. She looked at his rakishly handsome face with the white, dimpled smile and she couldn't ration her lack of enthusiasm for a sexy romp with this gorgeous man. Allowing him to pull her towards the room, Sam tried desperately to rid her mind of its heavy weight and put herself in the moment with her handsome fiancé.

Holding fast to his left hand when they got to the middle of the room, she pulled it up to her lips and dropped a quick kiss on the back.

"Give me a few minutes - I could really use a bath."

His smile grew wider and he turned towards the bathroom behind her. "Make it a hot shower and I'm there."

Swinging back around, Sam pushed lightly against his chest, her mind quickly comparing it to a much harder one she knew so well. "Not tonight, lover. Just a few minutes, then I'm all yours."

She hurriedly dashed inside the bathroom and locked the door behind her, definitely not in the mood for that either - hot and welcome as she'd usually found showers with him to be. What the hell was happening to her? Turning down hot sex with a man who knew his way around women, who, granted was no Jason Morgan, but she'd had no complaints since they started sleeping together, so why all of a sudden didn't she want him in that way anymore? Her reflection in the mirror looked hassled and confused.

"Get it together Sam!"


	5. Chapter 5

Forty minutes passed in the bathtub, Sam getting out only when the water felt cold and had lost all appeal. She administered lotion, taking as leisurely a time as she could - moisturizing was important - brushed her hair until her arm got tired, then sighed, knowing she had far exceeded what could pass as a reasonable amount of time spent in the bathroom when you really wanted to get back to your lover.

Patrick had knocked once after she'd been in there for ten minutes, but hadn't raised another peep since then, and she realized why, when she emerged from her fortress to find him fast asleep beneath the sheets, where he'd fallen asleep waiting. His bare body and the lit candles on both nightstands told of his intentions that had been made clear earlier, but the pang of guilt that ran through her wasn't enough to make Sam want to wake him. Instead, she threw on a pair of sweats and exited the room quietly after blowing out the candles.

"You need to stop this - before you ruin a perfectly good thing!"

She admonished herself quietly as she paced the living room, sleep the farthest thing from her mind. Stopping to look at her reflection in the mirror near the door, Sam saw what she was afraid of. The woman looking back was not a woman anxious to marry Patrick Drake in two days.

Getting an idea, she pulled on her leather jacket, scribbled a quick note telling Patrick where she'd gone, and grabbed her keys. Twenty minutes later she was standing outside her old apartment, resurfacing memories of a time when her independence was so fulfilling, swimming before her eyes. Sam let herself in and headed straight for the bedroom closet. The place was usually rented but sat empty since her last tenant had gotten married and moved into her new husband's home. They'd stored her wedding dress there to keep it from Patrick's prying eyes.

As she pulled it from the closet, Sam thought it was a perfect idea…if she put the dress on and spend some time remembering how they got here and where they wanted to go together, she would also remember why this was a good thing for them all. She needed desperately to reconnect to a time when marrying Patrick was her heart's desire.

Donning the shimmering white silk, she moved to the floor length mirror to see her reflection, unprepared for the troubling, instead of comforting, thoughts evoked by her image. No, no no! It was having the exact opposite effect of what she'd hoped!

Frustrated at herself, Sam ran from the bedroom to the terrace - she couldn't breathe - all of a sudden, she couldn't get air through her lungs.

"Sam?"

Whirling suddenly at the unexpected voice, Sam convulsed harder as the breath was further wrung from her body.

"Sam!"

Jason ran to her, alarmed at the convulsions and the panic strewn across her face. She was having difficulty breathing.

"Sam!" He grabbed her just before she hit the ground, pulling her into his arms and coaxing so she would take in air. "Breathe, Sam…breathe." He dropped his face directly in front of her, taking deep breaths in demonstration for her to follow. "Breathe…yes, like that. Breathe."

The relief washed him when she started inhaling deeply, her chest, her very ample, heaving chest, rising and falling rapidly, then calming as her breathing regulated. Telling himself he was only focused on her chest for one reason, Jason forced other thoughts to the back of his mind, as he held her, meeting her eyes again as he still demonstrated for her.

After what had felt like an eternity, her voice broke through and her arms pushed against him. "You can let go now, I'm fine."

She wasn't really. He'd robbed her of the very breath he was telling her to take, and she damn well near passed out from lack of oxygen when he appeared before her. "What are you doing here, Jason?"

He wasn't sure. He'd left Elizabeth, telling her he wanted a bottle of champagne to toast to her tonight, and seeing that they didn't keep liquor in the house, he offered to make a quick run and come right back. That was almost an hour ago. Something, something unknown, had led him to this apartment building, to this apartment instead. Jason thought of a few minutes earlier when he'd been standing outside the front door, uncertain why he was there but unable to disobey the push that bade him to try the knob after his unanswered knock, and find the door opened. The same force had drawn him inside, and almost instantly, out to the balcony. Imagine his surprise when he saw Sam there, his panic when she started convulsing.

"Why are you here?" She had repeated the question, bringing him from his reverie to find her looking annoyed and irritated. That was the only way she seemed to look at him lately.

"I don't know." He looked behind him to the living room, then back to the hot tub with unlit candles all around. "What is this place?"

Sam looked at him curiously. She didn't understand…why was he there? What made him come…and tonight, of all nights? Why now? "You don't know?"

He shook his head, waiting for her to fill the blanks for him, the moment seeming unreal, but very familiar too. "Who's apartment is this?"

"Mine."

It was hers. He'd been there before. He'd been here, on this balcony, in this spot, looking at her in that…no, not that wedding dress…she was wearing a completely different, stunning wedding dress. The perfect wedding dress.

 _"You…you look…AMAZING!"_

The words echoed in his head and poured out through his mouth, and for a moment, Jason thought she was about to convulse again and faint too this time. Her face had gone completely ashen and she grabbed hold of her belly as though it hurt.

"Sam!" He stepped quickly to her but she just as quickly stopped him with an upsweeping palm. "Are you okay?"

She backed away from him, as though from his slap, holding her belly still and bending over at the middle, leaning up against the railing as though for needed support.

"No - no, I'm not!" She took a deep breath, then looked at him with so much pain all over and through her. "What are you doing? Is this fun for you?"

She sounded disgusted by him, rendering him even more confused. Why would she ask that? Had anything about him lately looked like fun?

"Is it, for you? Is anything about this craziness **_fun_** for anyone?"

He hadn't meant to snap at her but this wasn't making any sense! She was standing there looking beautiful in a wedding dress, yet his mind was seeing her in another. But when? How many times had he heard how they'd gotten married in jeans - so when was she in the most beautiful dress, striking this beautiful picture of the most radiant bride he'd ever seen? His damn damaged mind had him straddling the lines of insanity and reality, and it was making him crazy!

Sam looked at him frustratedly pacing in front of her and for the first time in a while she felt empathy for his state of confusion. It was hard on her, seeing the man she'd loved so much have no recollection of anything about them and not wanting to, but as hard as it was for her, she realized how it had to be doubly hard for him. _She_ had the memories to fit the outcome of their lives, when all he had were questions and confusing bits and pieces. Leaning back fully against the terrace railing, she asked, "How did you end up here?"

Her soft voice penetrated to calm him too, bringing his pacing to slow as he looked towards her, his shoulders going up in a shrug before he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his dress pants.

"I don't know. Something led me here. It was the strangest pull, all the way to the front door of the apartment. I knocked, then tried the door, and the same pull led me to walk out here." He shrugged again, "I wish I could tell you why."

Sam looked at him for a silent minute, his rugged features appeared strained beneath the frustration, his eyes looked tired and restless, like he hadn't been sleeping. She remembered when all she wanted was to take care of him.

"You came here the night before our wedding. I was out here, in my dress…" she smiled at the memory, despite the pain it also conjured, "…you weren't supposed to see me."

That night was so magical for her…she was on the verge of becoming his and he hers, and despite the strains she felt from the wedding plans that were taking them over, she had never been as excited as she was, on her way to begin forever with him. She just had to try on the dress she'd start that journey in, to fully picture herself next to him, taking that treasured first step.

" _But I was going to see you anyway._ "

Another long, silent minute passed between them, snippets from that night playing in both their minds, leaving each with their own feeling of longing. That's what his answer was that night too.

"You looked so beautiful." His whisper was soft and sweet.

When she found herself blushing, Sam cleared her throat, "You probably shouldn't go around entering strange apartments you don't know…and especially not at night. You might pickup another bullet in that already riddled body of yours."

He heard her attempt to change the subject even as he noticed the pink tinge that crept up her cheek. He was making her uncomfortable.

"And you probably shouldn't be roaming around empty ones…alone…with the door unlocked…looking like _that_."

That hadn't worked. He thought he would make her smile with return banter but instead, she grew more uncomfortable, her brown eyes growing darker by the minute.

"I'm sorry - I don't mean…it's just that I've been getting these flashbacks and they're…"

"They're what?" Her breath caught with anticipation. Was he remembering?

"Confusing. Out of sync." The frustration had returned to send an hand raking through short hair and his feet moving towards the edge. "It's never a full memory - just disjointed pieces that leave more questions than they answer."

Sam lowered her eyes to hide the disappointment. "Must suck." She meant that. It can't be easy to have bits of images running through your mind, feeling like you're on the cusp of a revelation, only to lose it at the last second. It would drive her mad.

"Damn right, it does!"

She sat at the patio table and indicated the chair across from her. "Tell me what you've been remembering and I'll fill in what I can."

Her soft offer caught him off guard, but he didn't hesitate to take the chair she offered, grateful for any help that would put some of the confusion into context. He hadn't been able to talk to Elizabeth about them, unwilling mostly, since Sam seemed to be prominent throughout, and he was well aware of how jealous Elizabeth was of his former relationship with her.

"Are you sure? I haven't exactly been your favorite person lately."

"You still aren't, so sit before I change my mind."

He remembered how easy it had been to talk to Sam when she befriended Jake Doe. She was so easygoing and unassuming - it was refreshing to have someone nonjudgemental and open, uncontrolling to talk to - even after he'd put her in danger more than once - she'd still given him the benefit of the doubt and called him friend. He missed that easy way that they'd had together.

"Why is that? I mean, I know you're angry about my choice, but I thought for sure we'd stay friends."

She looked at him sadly. "I'm not angry about your choice to divorce me and marry Elizabeth. You're in love with her - I get that. What pisses me off is your refusal to learn anything about your life. The way you just dismissed who you were, who we all were…it's disrespectful and it's a slap to the wonderful man my husband was. I respect your choice to move on and create a new life for yourself, but the way you've been dismissive and insulting to the one we led makes me want to punch you half the time."

His raised brows brought an unwilling smile to her face. "I'm serious - you make me want to punch you!"

Faking backing up with his palms out, Jason brought a much needed lightness to the moment, broadening her beautiful smile that engaged one of his own. He lowered his arms to the table and looked at her earnestly.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I haven't handled this very well, I know that. Guess it's been harder than I realized, not having anything to fall back on - no road map to follow. I didn't mean to insult your relationship - _our_ relationship. I know from what you've told me that it was very special and one of a kind. It's just confusing not knowing what to do and what will please everybody. I just seem to go about everything all wrong."

"You will never be able to please everybody - the sooner you realize that the saner we'll all be." She felt another bout of empathy for what he was going through. He was stumbling around in the dark, much like the first time he'd lost his memory and it had taken every strength she'd had to fight his resistance then too. But back then, he was at least willing to give her the chance to help him through it.

"I guess you're right. But I need to start with my boys. I'm sorry again about Danny - you're right, I should've done better. That changes right now. As long as you mean it, I'll see my son every day. He's really a great kid, and I can't wait to get to know him better."

Sam shook her head and waved a finger at him. "You're really not so different, Jason Morgan. You always knew how to read someone's weakness and pick up on any vulnerability. Using my son…dirty, dirty trick."

He smiled lightly. "It's not a trick, I swear. Starting tomorrow, Danny and I will be spending a lot of time getting to know one another. Now, if you want to throw a few strolls down memory lane in with the deal - who am I to say no?"

Sam rose from the table. "You and I won't be strolling anywhere together. Danny has his final tux fitting at two, so just have him back by then." She gestured to the doorway when he turned to watch but refused to follow.

"You're kicking me out? What happened to your offer to fill in the gaping blanks for a friend?" His voice was teasing but his gut was hurt. He wasn't ready to leave her yet.

Sam gestured again and shook her head. "You and I were always friends first, but given our current circumstances, I don't think we should start this with me standing here in my wedding dress, going over the night before _you and I_ got married. Let's just pick this up when I get back from my honeymoon."

He rose to his feet, a stab echoing through him at the mental picture of her frolicking the waves with Drake, like she did with him on their… _honeymoon_? He stopped in the spot as his mind showed him images of Sam falling off a surfboard, the panic he felt when she didn't resurface, when he knew instinctively he needed to dive for her.

Clearing his throat, he started walking again and allowed her to lead him to the front door. When she turned to glance back at him as her hand reached for the knob, he found he _really_ wasn't ready to leave.

"Aren't you the least bit curious what else I remember?"

Sam paused then turned around fully to face him, watching the mischief dancing in his eyes. She had to admit that despite her gut telling her to kick him out, she really wasn't quite ready for him to leave either. Dangerous.

"Okay, fine…tell me. What else?"

"You don't have to get mad."

"I'm not mad."

"You sound mad." He saw the way her eyes narrowed and knew she really was getting mad now so he spat out, "I asked you to move in with me…you look very nice in purple."

Sam felt her knees soften when his words conjured her own memory of the day she felt jealous of Brenda Barrett and thought she needed to dress up to compete for her boyfriend's attention.

"That's what you said then too - that I looked nice."

"You did. You've always looked effortlessly beautiful in anything."

Her heart beat dramatically against her ribcage, deafening her ears. "How would you know - you don't remember half of what you've seen me in?"

He inclined his head with a smirk. "True, but I've known you for over a year now. You always look beautiful, Sam. Can't imagine that's not always been the case."

She was right the first time. This was dangerous. Clearing her throat, Sam opened the front door. "You should go home. I"m sure Elizabeth's worried."

Jason looked at his watch. Damn. Elizabeth. He'd been gone for two hours - she was probably calling the police by now. He exited the apartment then turned back to face her.

"I'll see you for breakfast." When she looked at him strange he added, "Danny? Come with us."

Sam shook her head in relief. "No, you guys should spend some time alone, and I have a million things to do tomorrow."

His disappointment was mixed with so much more, and Jason knew it was a good idea that he left. Voluptuous, intriguing, dynamic Sam Morgan in beautiful white silk, mixed with all the feelings running rampant in the few snippets he'd had of her, mingled with the new emotions she'd been unleashing within him…Carly's voice in his head telling him over and over and over, _you're 'in love' with Sam_ … _dangerious_.

He left her there, turning at the end of the hall to catch one last look before she closed the door softly. Champagne forgotten and not needed, he raced home to find Elizabeth pacing the living room, and as she ran to him, before she could start with the anticipated twenty questions, he grabbed her up in his arms, clamped her mouth with his and tore up the stairs, where he pounded her until she fell fast asleep. When she'd gotten through purring like a kitten and snuggled beneath his arms, Jason laid wide awake, staring at the ceiling, seeing only warm, teasing, chestnut eyes, smiling knowingly at his shame. Those haunting, tempting, beautiful eyes saw what he knew - that Elizabeth had not been the one in bed with him tonight - she disappeared the minute he'd torn through the front door.

Sam snuggled into bed and up to Patrick's sleepy form, running a tongue along his ear while her hand snaked its way beneath the sheets to his naked readiness, the fire burning between her legs way too ferocious to allow sleep. He stirred and she sought his mouth hungrily, stroking him awake and erect, where he joined her ready, hungry. Climbing astride him, she worked him to a frenzy then rode him like a joc, dismounting only when he went limp with release and she'd ridden herself to victory. As she drew the covers up to her chin and settled in the arms that embraced her, she closed her eyes to the burning blue she'd been seeing all night long, ashamed that she could use the man she was going to marry this way, but unable to hide from the pleasure that had just wrecked her body - not from Patrick, since he wasn't who'd been in bed with her….he'd disappeared the minute she slid between those sheets.

 _DANGEROUS_!


	6. Chapter 6

Elizabeth woke up feeling sore all over. As she allowed the hot water to pound her body and soothe the bruises that had sprung up, she reminisced on the pounding it took the night before, loving it and dreading it at the same time. She'd been completely taken aback by the way Jason tore through the door and took her like a caveman, given that he'd always been the most gentle lover…and she'd enjoyed every pounding second. But she was no fool. He'd disappeared for hours and returned without the champagne he said he left to get, all worked up and needing to explode…and what an explosion it had been! She'd never seen him like that - from start to finish, even the sounds he made had been new to her. She needed only one guess what had gotten into him…or rather _who_.

He was up and out of the house by the time she awoke…his note saying he'd gone to breakfast with Danny. Of course he couldn't wait to go see that tramp again. He must really take her for an idiot. If it had really been about the kid, he'd have invited his other son to join them.

She spent the morning getting the house in order - she had to work later that night then look presentable for the harlot's wedding to her good friend the following day, so best get the housework done early. She'd just finished cleaning up when someone knocked on the front door.

"Nikolas! You're back from your trip." She hugged her closest friend and pulled him inside the living room.

"Hello Elizabeth. Yes, I got back last night, thought I'd come see how you've been doing."

" _Fabulous_!" Her tone was dry as she took a seat on the couch and patted the one next to her. "Can I get you coffee or anything?"

The prince moved to sit where indicated and look at his friend closely. "No, thank you - I'm fine. You, on the other hand, look like you have something on your mind. What is it, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shrugged and tried to smile but knew it didn't reach her eyes when he prodded her to tell him.

"Are the boys okay?"

"The boys are wonderful, they're spending the day with Grams."

"Then I take it it's Jason."

"It's your cousin, actually. Jason and I would be just fine if she'd only butt out of our lives."

"Sam?" Nikolas was confused. "Last I checked she still planned to marry Patrick and move on, what kind of problems is Sam creating for you and Jason?"

"She just won't leave him alone. She's marrying Patrick but she won't be satisfied until she gets Jason to leave me." She moved restlessly from the chair to fluff the cushion on the one opposite.

Nikolas rose behind her and took hold of the hand she was trying to busy, then the other, holding both to get her to focus.

"What are you saying? Sam is getting involved with Jason again?"

"She's doing everything in her power to entice him away from me Nikolas…running into him everywhere he goes, flaunting herself everytime she sees him…does it matter to her that he's engaged and wants nothing to do with her? No! She keeps badgering him about remembering their ridiculous past and child, as if it's not a blessing that he forgot every cursed one of them! He loves me now, and your harlot of a cousin just won't respect that!"

He squeezed her hands softly. "Okay, calm down. You don't need to call Sam names…have you spoken to Jason and told him how you feel? I'm sure it's all quite innocent and you're just reading too much into things."

Snatching her hands free, she went back to fluffing the same pillow again. "Talk to Jason - a lot of good that will do. He doesn't want to hear anything when it comes to his precious ex-wife!" She snapped back around. "I'm not misreading anything - she's after him again - I know she is."

"Well, they're bound to run into each other, Elizabeth - we live in a very small town…and they share a child. You can't get around them interacting every now and again. Don't drive yourself crazy with this, please."

"Why are you taking up for her? You're supposed to be my friend, Nikolas!"

He tried to take her hand again, worried now how shaky she was appearing to him.

"I _am_ \- you're one of my closest, dearest friends - which is why I can look at things objectively and tell you when you're overreacting. Sam is building a life with Patrick, whatever she had with Jason is in the past - they've both moved on. You won…enjoy your victory and stop making yourself crazy."

If only she could, but Elizabeth knew that after what happened last night, she couldn't afford to lose an inch to the woman and she dared not take her eyes off her. She looked at Nikolas and gave him a fake, unconvincing smile, knowing it was no use trying to tell him anything - Sam was his cousin - what was it they said about blood being thicker than water?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam had always been a late sleeper, since Port Charles anyway, which was really strange because when she captained her own boat she used to be up with the dawn…when she went to bed at all. She thought about the irony, as she knocked on her mother's front door, where the sun was just rising behind her.

Trying the lock and finding it open, she pushed her way inside. "Hello!" She listened for a sound but heard none, so she went over to the dining table and took a seat by the window with her cup of steaming java from Kelly's, staring out at the morning.

"Sam! What're you doing here so early?"

The sleepy voice of her mother was laden with curiosity as she wrapped her robe around her and joined her eldest daughter at the table.

Sam shoved the cardboard carrier in her direction. "Brought you coffee!" Then she went back to sipping hers, eyeing her mother over the cup innocently.

Alexis looked from her eldest to the proffered cup, plopping in the chair before she reached to grab it. "Okay, spill! Who's on fire?"

"What? I can't bring my mother coffee?"

Alexis took a sip then pointed to the clock on the wall over the mantle. "It's early, Sam! Which in and of itself, makes no sense because you don't get out of bed till noon. What's up?"

"Shows how much you know - I've been known to get up early sometimes."

"Maybe, but not since before you were with Jason." The light dawned on Alexis when her daughter's chin went up at the mention of the name. "This is about Jason? What about him - what'd he do now?"

Sam set her cup down and squirmed in the chair. "I don't have to always talk about Jason…can't we find other things to talk about? I'm getting married tomorrow, maybe I want to talk about that. My business is at a stalemate and in need of clients - how about we talk about that? Or you, maybe I want to find out how you're doing, how about that?"

Alexis took another sip of the coffee that was doing its job and slowly waking her up. "Okay, what do you want to tackle first?"

Sam lowered her head to the cool surface of the table, lifting and laying it back down, soon essentially banging her head against the glass. Grunting in exasperation, she whispered painfully, "I need to talk about Jason." It wasn't until her mother's hand reached out to grab hers that she gave up hitting her head to the table and sat up to face her, a pathetic, simpering look taking over when she saw her mother's answering understanding.

"What is it honey, what did he do now?"

Sam laid it all out for Alexis, from when he'd opened the door at the Quartermaine's and thrown her for a loop, to how he ogled her all night, followed her to her old place, and the electric conversation they'd had that sent her home hot and bothered to use the man she loved for release.

"Oh, dear." Alexis drained her coffee cup then covered her mouth with both hands as she tried to think. "Okay, this isn't so bad. You don't really want Jason back, you're in love with Patrick!" She looked to her daughter for confirmation and when she nodded she continued, "It's not as bad as it sounds…men and women fantasize about other people all the time…it's totally normal!"

When Sam gave her an incredulous look she backed up a little, "Okay, maybe it's a little more complicated, given your history with Jason, but it's not the end of the world. It's not like this is going to continue to happen - you've just been dealing with a lot, that's all."

"What are you saying, Mom? Don't you think I should tell Patrick before we get married tomorrow? What if this wasn't just a one time thing? What if I never completely get over Jason - that's not fair to Patrick."

"Are you in love with Jason now?"

She thought deeply about it. "I'll probably always be in love with _my_ Jason, but this guy…this guy is a stranger to me. He's not my Jason and he's in love with somebody else - there's nothing I can do about that."

Alexis scooted her chair closer. "What are you saying? Are you telling me that if he gets his memories back tomorrow and wants you back, there's a chance?"

"But that's not going to happen, Mom. Too much has already gone down for any of us to go back now."

"Are you sure about that? Answer the question, Sam. What if you could have your Jason back, memories and all - would you leave Patrick and go back?"

She was crying. Sam was startled when something wet fell atop her hands resting one on the other on the table, not even realizing when she'd started crying.

"I don't know, Mom." She'd turned into a blubbering mess in under two minutes. "What am I supposed to do, huh? I spend years loving Jason like I've never loved anyone - before, or since. I lost my mind when I lost him…then he came back, after years of me holding out hope and praying day after day, he came back… ** _and I didn't even know him!_** One day I wake up and out of nowhere, I'm thrust into a world where I'm engaged to someone else, and the love of my life is too…he doesn't know me, doesn't want to know me, ignores our child." When her mother's arms wrapped tightly around her, Sam really lost it then, humongous, broken sobs rocking her body and tearing her heart out of her chest.

"It's alright, baby…everything's alright."

 _"It's-not-Moooom_! It can never be alright again if Jason doesn't love me!"

Clinging desperately to the warmth of her mother's love, and to her arms wrapped tightly around her, Sam wailed through the pain that ripped her insides out from bow to stern, churning through razor for good measure, until the tears were spent and she had nothing left. Still Alexis held her, rocked her softly as she swiped at her own tears, her own insides awash with pain for her child. A mother can never bear to see her child hurt, no matter how grown she got.

"It's alright baby. We'll fix it. We'll fix it somehow."

"How, mom? How can I hurt Patrick with this - he's been nothing but good to me and Danny. But I have to be honest with him…I can't let him walk blindly into a marriage where his wife is not a hundred percent committed to him - he doesn't deserve that."

"No, he doesn't baby, but you don't deserve to be alone either. Are you willing to give up Patrick, even if Jason stays with Elizabeth?"

A new batch of tears sprung to Sam's eyes when she pictured Elizabeth plastered on Jason, the way she was the night before, advertising her position as the future Mrs. Morgan. Feeling sick and sad in equal measures, Sam bawled out so loudly that it frightened Alexis to the core.

"What's the matter with Sam?" Julian's alarmed voice sounded as he came rushing down the stairs, startling Sam and Alexis who'd forgotten that he was there. Sam sat up in her mother's arms, the tears receding when her father got to them, as she wiped quickly at the ones that hadn't.

"Sam, what's wrong, are you hurt?" Julian was still trying to get an answer when Sam got up from the table, still wiping at her eyes and started towards the door.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry I woke you. Please, go back to bed you two. Sorry."

She was halfway to the door, Alexis following behind her, calling for her to stop.

"Sam, please don't leave, let's talk some more. I'll put on a fresh pot and we'll talk, okay?"

She got to the door and turned back around to face her worried parents. "I'll be fine, Mom, really. I needed to get it out and I did. Now, I have to talk to Patrick. I'll call you later. Thanks, Mom."

Hurriedly, she retreated before they tried again to stop her, thankful for the brisk wind that smacked her in the face and dried her remaining tears, as she hurried towards her car and what she knew she had to do.

She sat for a minute in the car, dreading what was coming but knowing it was inevitable. Her mother's words played in her mind as she pulled out into traffic. What if she gave up Patrick, a man she knew loved her and wants a future with her child, for loneliness and no father for Danny? It was a heavy, heavy question that weighed largely on Sam the whole drive home, but by the time she pulled up outside the house, she had the answer…and it was the one she gave Patrick when he asked the same question.

He was devastated when she came clean, and Sam felt like the world's worst person for the hurt she could see him feeling, but she'd learned a long time ago that you can't shy away from doing what's right or telling the truth, simply because it hurts. It didn't benefit a single person to lie and use someone else, and she'd tried to live her life that way, ever since she'd learned that lesson.

"Jason wants Elizabeth, not you. Do you think leaving me is going to bring him running back to you? He's in love with her, isn't that what he told you? He doesn't give a damn about the old ride or die shit that you're clinging to, but you want to rip our lives apart for nothing?"

She knew his harsh words were coming from a place of hurt, and she could even understand it, but she couldn't let them stop her from doing what she knew was right.

"This is not about what Jason wants or what Jason does, Patrick - this is about you and me and what is happening between us. I'm standing here telling you that I've not been able to bury my feelings for my ex - and oh, God, I've tried. It was easier when I thought he was never coming back…I was able to put them into perspective and tie them into a nice little bow and put them aside…but now…now he's here! No, he doesn't remember me and yes, that hurts like hell! No, we're not together and it's possible that will never ever change, but I will not close my eyes and let you walk blindly into marriage when I have these feelings resurrected in me."

She watched him as he paced the dining area angrily, keeping her distance by the couch and not venturing near him. She wasn't afraid he'd do anything, but she wanted to give him his space.

"Oh, cut the crap Sam! You're being selfish! Yes - selfish! You're not thinking about Danny - you're letting some stupid adolescent fantasies get in the way of what we can be together! **_I'm_** who's good for you and Danny - **_not Jason!_** I can offer you a stable home, without bullets and rapists targeting you to send a message to a man who didn't care enough about you the first time to choose you over the mob…and he won't choose you this time either! When he had that choice he chose Elizabeth - not you! It's never you - when will you get that?"

"Okay, forget _place of hurt_ \- now you're just being mean! Danny and I will move out today so you can have your house back." She started towards the bedrooms to start packing when he stopped her cold.

"What about Emma? Hmm - what about my little girl, who you made promises to?"

Emma. Her sweet, angelic, smiling face flashed in front of Sam and slapped her heart. Her decision would undoubtedly hurt Emma too, but lying to them would hurt so much more in the long run. Better to rip the bandaid off and give a cut the chance to heal, than to leave it infected and festering to a boil.

"I'll explain to Emma why Danny and I had to leave. It's what's best for everybody - I'll make sure she knows that."

"You stay the hell away from my daughter! Don't talk to her, don't go anywhere near her… _I'll_ tell Emma what she needs to know."

It was his right as her parent. Turning back towards the door, Sam grabbed her keys and jacket.

"On second thought, I'll come back for Danny's and my things later when you're at work. It's not such a good idea for us to be here together right now." She looked at the man who's world she'd just rocked in the worst way, and she was stricken with how angry she'd made him.

"I'm sorry, Patrick…I'm sorrier than you'll ever know…but this is the right thing to do…and even if I end up spending my life alone because of it, you deserve to find someone who can love you like you deserve. It's not me - and I'm so sorry for that."

He stormed towards her and Sam involuntarily backed up, just as he reached her and slammed his door shut in her face. Yep…that one is going to sting for awhile. On both sides!


	7. Chapter 7

Jason had a wonderful morning with his son. He hadn't had many one on one interactions with Danny since he found out the wondrous news - he usually had the other boys with them or Sam, or Elizabeth - not usually just him and Danny, doing something fun. As he watched his son run ahead of him, he couldn't figure out what had taken him so long.

He was a happy little boy, free and curious, and bright and polite. He had moments of silence when Jason would notice him taking in everything and everyone around him, quiet and reserved…then he'd ask the most astute questions…simple and concise - showing his curiosity and observation skills, keen as any adult he knew. He had a real curiosity about things and how they worked, which gave Jason insight on how his mind worked. He was unbelievable and special. And he was his.

He found out at breakfast that his son had missed him in a way he'd been absolutely blind to, thinking the occasional hour he spent sharing an ice-cream cone or some chicken fingers at Kelly's was all the time he needed to afford a four-year-old, all the time he needed from him. Finding out how present Sam had kept him in his son's life, how much Danny knew about the _him_ he'd refused to face himself, was eye opening.

"Daddy, what is it like in Italy?"

Jason laid down the coffee cup as he watched his son storm through a small pancake stack, drowned in syrup.

"Italy?"

"Huhah…Mommy said you took her there once. She was reading me a bedtime story about Siena, and she said she really went there with you. What was it like?"

He was taken aback. He'd never even thought about trips he might have taken with Sam, or about places they would've traveled, those special memories made together.

"I'm sorry, Buddy, but I still can't remember a lot of things from the past. I'm sure it was beautiful like Mommy told you…I wish I could remember too."

"It's okay, Daddy. I can show you the pictures in my book. Mommy said you saw a shooting star - did you know that Mommy loves stars?"

Jason smiled and took a sip of coffee, recalling the night they'd seen one at the water together…back when he had no idea he was standing there, talking to his wife about himself.

"She might have mentioned something about it." He watched Danny nod and stuff another huge bite of pancakes. "What about you, do you like shooting stars?"

He got a cursory nod as he could see the wheels turning, knowing his remarkable offspring was already moved on to the next thing on his curious mind. He soon found out he'd guessed right.

"Do you dream, Daddy?"

"Do I dream?"

"Mhm. Mommy said you hurt your head, that's why you can't remember us. I dreamed once that I could fly…isn't that silly? People don't have wings like birds or like airplanes - people can't fly."

"You know about flying?"

He got another nod, then found out something else he didn't know about his little boy. "The shape of the wings move air really fast on a plane, did you know that?"

"I had no idea. Where'd you learn that?"

"From Mikey. He took us on the jet once. We didn't get to fly anywhere that time but the pilot showed us how it works. Mikey bought me a model airplane and we put it together and erything."

"Really? Aren't you too little?"

They'd exited Kelly's and were walking towards the park. Jason wasn't ready to take him back home yet, Sam said he didn't have to be back until two, and he was thoroughly enjoying their time alone.

"Nahuh, I'm a big boy - even Mommy says. Mikey was there the whole time, and Mommy too. It's in my room at Patrick's house - want to see it, Daddy?"

Jason felt a quiet anger stir inside him. Other people got to do the things with his son that he should have been doing. He missed out on years with Danny, teaching him things, learning what he liked, what he didn't…because some old, deranged crone had an agenda of who he should be and what he should be doing…being a father to his sons not one of them…not his right, by her decree. Cursing Helena again in his mind, he brought his concentration back on Danny.

"Sure, I'd love to see it, Buddy."

They spent time at the park, then at the Museum of Science, where Jason knew Danny would get a real kick out of the antique planes on display. He wasn't disappointed when his son adopted, "wow" as his word of the day. He used it so many times Jason couldn't stop smiling, loving every single minute spent with him, indulging his curiosity.

His phone rang just before noon, and as he reached inside his pocket he found himself excitedly hoping it was the mother of his son. Checking up on Danny of course, he told himself…but of course, it wasn't her.

"Hello."

"Jason, hi. You've been gone all morning, are you on your way home yet?"

"I'm still with my son. I'll be back later."

"That's one long breakfast - where did you take him, California?"

He was confused by the snarkiness in her voice, but didn't want anything intruding. "No, we went to Kelly's like I told you. I'll see you later…I need to get back to Danny."

"Jason, wait…"

His annoyance was growing. "What is it Elizabeth?"

"I have to be at work at seven - can we at least have dinner together before then? Since you didn't bother to take Jake on your little outing, I'm sure he'd love to see his father today too."

"I never do anything like this with Danny, why are you making it a big deal?"

He could hear when she injected the nectar back into her voice, obviously realizing she'd erred. "We just miss you when you're not here, that's all. I didn't expect you to be gone all day…especially after last night."

The image of them together popped into his head, and regret once again took him over…regret that he'd used her, regret that she'd expect that kind of hunger all the time now, regret that he wasn't being more sensitive…and the most extensive regret that had ebbed low in his gut since - that his conjured partner hadn't really been the one there.

"I'll talk to you after I drop Danny off - I have to go." He quickly hung up, still annoyed that she would interrupt the time with his son for no reason, but placed himself back into the magic of the day - waving at Danny where he'd been watching him across the room. He had so much making up to do, and his four-year-old was where he was the most anxious to start.

Sam drove to Kelly's to try and catch up with Jason and Danny. When they weren't there she started to worry that Jason was on his way back to the house, but just as she reached for the phone to call him, a text appeared. Releasing a pent-up sigh, she breathed relief that they were still out having fun, as she quickly texted back to them to enjoy the Museum and Jason to drop Danny off at her mom's when they got done. She also told him not to worry about two, that they were no longer on a schedule. She didn't want to cut her baby's day short if he was having fun - no reason at all to now.

"Seriously, Sam - why do I even bother trying to do this with you?" She turned to meet the bristle of Maxie's tirade as the busy blonde soared into Kelly's and came to stop next to her. Maxie took one look at her friend's face and grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her to a table in the far corner of the room, all exasperations forgotten.

"Sam, what's wrong. I got a text from Patrick saying you've postponed the wedding, at the last minute I might add…" her voice trailed off as she studied Sam's face, "…but this isn't just a postponement, is it?"

Sam shook her head sadly. "I thought at first it would be. Honestly, Maxie I thought he had a right to know that everything wasn't all fairytales and roses with us, and I thought he'd be okay with pushing the wedding out a little bit, just, you know - till we figured everything out. I know it's a mistake for us to get married right now, but I really didn't think we'd be _here_."

"Where exactly are we?"

"Splitsville, that's where!"

"But why, Sam you guys were so happy and in love. I don't think your confusion over old feelings for Jason could do this - Patrick's just hurt. He'll come around."

"What do you know about my feelings for Jason?"

"Oh, God, Sam everybody knows about your feelings for Jason - especially the thot he's engaged to. Didn't you explain it to Patrick?"

"I tried - he didn't want to hear anything, and honestly, after the ugliness he showed me today - this is definitely for the best."

"Ugliness - what do you mean - what did Patrick do?"

Sam toyed with the saltshaker as she heard his unkind words play over and over again. "Not a damn thing I want to talk about, but given that we now know how he truly feels, we were about to make the biggest mistake of our lives. I'm really sorry all your hard work just went down the drain…but it's better we found out _before_ we tied ourselves together for the wrong reasons."

Maxie was worried. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine. Dr. Drake finally learned that he can't control me, and I guess that didn't sit too well with him. We are _definitely_ better off going our separate ways now."

 ** _"WHAT? YOU BROKE UP WITH PATRICK?"_**

The shaky shriek got everyone in the room's attention, and the friends looked over to find Elizabeth Webber standing there clutching her purse like a lifeline beneath her arm, her face stricken and white.

"Why? Why would you do this - to come chasing after Jason again? You better think again, lady because this time I'll fight you to the death. I am **_never_** letting go of Jason, do you hear me? **_Never_**! So you and your offspring can just find yourselves another pursestring to latch onto, because Jason is **_MINE_**. He belongs to me and Jake and you're never getting near him again. **_NEVER_**!"

Sam looked from the incensed woman, to the other astounded patrons, then over to Maxie with a confused look on her face.

"Is this hyena addressing me?"

Maxie pursed her lips in derision and bobbed her head. "Yep, yep - I'm pretty sure that crazy was all addressed to you…but do you want me to handle it though? Please, please, PLEASE, can I handle it?"

"Or…we could just ignore the nuisance till it went away?"

Her arms flashed towards the woman. "I vote no! By all means…handle that…but tag me in when you're done, will ya?"

Elizabeth was furious. They obviously thought she was a joke? "My life is no joke for y…"

She was startled when Sam reared up after shoving the chair backwards.

"You're nothing _BUT_ a joke, coming at me with this bullshit right now. What's the matter, _Liz_ …your collar on Jason feeling a little loose these days? What the hell are you doing this for, huh? He's all yours, isn't he? He _chose_ you - isn't that what you never forget to remind me - ever? So why the public display of NUT? I really don't have the patience for your dumb shit, so you better back the hell up!"

Sam looked down at Maxie, "Will you help me make calls? I have to stop this train that's already left the station."

"Of course - I already put the florist and the caterer on pause…fine, I'll call and cancel for good." She grabbed her purse to follow Sam out.

Elizabeth was fuming mad, grabbing Sam's arm as she pushed forcibly past her, swinging her back to face her.

"Sam, I need you to be reasonable…we decided - we all decided…this is what's best for everybody. Jason doesn't want the mob life, he's happy - we're in love - _you can't break up_ _Jakey's happy home_."

Yanking her hand from the woman's grip, Sam was about to put the anger she was carrying around in a punch to her face, but caught herself just in time, opting instead to use her words.

"Elizabeth, here's a novel concept for you…unlike you, my thoughts, my actions, my _existence,_ is not spent devising ways to **_get Jason_**. You've never been able to understand this, but Jason Morgan is his own person, who makes his own decisions and lives his own life. Believe it or not, I actually have other things to think about, that haven't a damn thing to do with you and Jason."

She folded her arms and asked curiously, "Why exactly, does my relationship status threaten you so much though? You're in love, right? So why would you be the least bit worried about me? Because I'll tell you - when Jason and I were married, you were _NEVER_ someone I worried about. Do yourself a favor…concentrate on keeping your house in order…then you'll never have to worry about me, or anybody else." She shoved her face right up to the woman's nose, "Unless of course, you don't have what it takes to keep the man… ** _then_** I'd be worried, if I were you!"

No, this wasn't happening. As God is her witness she will never lose him to Sam ever again. He'd made promises to her, and by God he would keep every last one.

Jason pulled up outside the Drake house just before two. He hadn't meant to run so late but they'd just been having such a great time that he didn't want his day with his boy to end. But he'd promised Sam. He looked around when he didn't see her car, but Drake was there - Danny would likely be going with him for the fitting. Grinding his teeth to stave his temper, Jason reminded himself that he had no reason to hate the man…until he opened the door and just the sight of the face that Sam would be looking at for the rest of her life took him back there.

" _Draake_!"

" _Morrgan_!'

Jason thought he sounded more pompous than usual, and he could see the hatred he was also feeling, reflected back from the man.

"What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be somewhere screwing my ex-fiancé?"

Looking hurriedly behind him to where Danny had stopped near the car to tie his lace, Jason was thankful he was still out of earshot.

"What? I know you're not talking about Sam like that!" His already piquing anger needed no more sparking.

"Who the hell else? Take your kid and get the hell out of here - run off to whichever whorehouse you've been…"

Before Jason knew it, his right fist had connected to the man's nose and he'd taken a menacing step inside, when the voice of his son carried from behind him.

"Daddy?"

Danny sounded scared, and instantly Jason regretted that he'd let Danny see the result of his anger.

Moving down the steps, he steered him back towards the car. "Go back to the car, son - we're meeting Mommy in town."

"Is Patrick okay?" Danny's voice carried even as he heeded his father and moved towards the car, his neck craning to see behind him to the open front door.

"He'll be fine. I'm just going to make sure he fixes it. Stay in the car, I'll be right back."

 ** _"You son-of-a-bitch!"_**

Jason heard the insult just as he got back to the front door, where the man had grabbed the tip of his shirt to squeeze it to his nose and was spinning back for the door, his right hand doubled into a fist. He struck out, but Jason moved quickly to pull the door up between them, hearing the sound of cracking bone and a strangled yelp of pain when fist met reinforced wood, before he turned away and went back to the SUV. Serve the jackass right for saying shit about Sam…hope his arm's in traction for weeks!

Worried, he turned out the drive and reached for his phone that was on the charger. It had died right after he sent the text to Sam to tell her where they were, and he hadn't turned it back on since placing it to charge. As soon as he did, the text from Sam popped up. Damn. Was she okay? What the hell had happened between them and why did Drake think it had something to do with him? Guess this means…he was ashamed of the leap of joy that kicked his heart, but he refused to scold himself for feeling happy that she was no longer going to marry that ass. You don't want her to marry anybody, you ass!

Sam sat down on the bench by the pier and looked out longingly over the water. Everything had been so much simpler when she was a captain of the sea and the commander of her own fate. Yes, it was dangerous, lonely, and sometimes cold, but it was exciting and free. She sighed when she had to also admit, it had long since lost claim to being the most fulfilling, unregrettable time of her life. Nothing had given her the thrill and happiness that her time in Port Charles had…nothing else even came close in comparison.

Still, that time had also given her more pain and regrets than any other too. These days she was usually feeling confused and melancholy, rejected and ignored, uncertain and a little bit afraid. What now? What should the next brilliant step be now that she'd once again marred her son's life and left him without a father, without a home, without a future?

Sitting erect as though someone had stepped in front of her and drawn her up by her shoulders, Sam immediately turned her train of thought. What the hell was she talking about? Her son _did_ have a father - he was with him right now, doing father-son things! People co-parented apart all the time and their children, when put first, were no worse for it. They _did_ have a home - the penthouse sat empty and it had always been their home - _always_ …and they _did_ have a future…a very bright future - she would make sure of it! She didn't need a man to secure her son's future! She was healthy and capable, she was full of love for him and completely committed to raising him the way she hadn't been - happy, safe, loved! She was capable of doing that - why the hell did she doubt that she could, or that she could do it alone?

"Penny for your thoughts, Samantha...and I'm being _extremely_ generous!"

Sam was surprised by the woman's presence as she took an uninvited seat next to her on the bench, pulling the elaborate fur snugly around her neck.

"Helena! You're not dead yet?"

A cold chuckle sounded from the crone. "As distasteful as usual, aren't you dear? After everything that I've done for you."

"Done for me?" Sam looked at the woman, the incredulity that seemed to always come with her statements, evident on her face. "You made my husband your prisoner and tried to control him, sent him to take my life, and you want gratitude? Why exactly **_aren't_** you dead yet?"

"Your _husband_ …how quaint. From what I heard, he dropped your tasteless snipe the first chance he got. Pity - so much potential, so much skill, lost on the likes of you and that insipid Elizabeth Webber. Proves that I was right to take him…he's much better suited to be a soldier, uninhibited by useless _feelings_ and _obligations_ to you worthless people."

Sam rose to her feet angrily. "You're despicable! People are not yours to control - when will you crazy Cassadines ever learn that? Jason has a family, one that loved and missed him every second - but why would I be surprised that you could never understand that? No-one in your family has ever wanted or loved you, you ice cold, irrelevant excuse for a human."

Helena rose to even the height disparity, always commanding control in every situation. "Every second? Come, come Samantha…you and I both know that you were less than the _grieving wife_ that you're pretending to be. Oh, dear - that's _ex-wife_ now though, isn't it? Turned out Mr. Morgan has no more use for gutter snipe than I do. Poor, poor Samantha…still thinking there's some happily ever after for you somewhere - how adorable." Helena pulled the coat together in front and held it tightly in one hand, while the other stuck in her pocket. "You and your germane lineage will never know happiness another day in your life - I'll make certain of it!"

Sam looked at the hateful, spiteful woman distastefully. "I don't know why I'm even wasting my time with you." She neared her, the anger for every minute Jason was kept from her and Danny, every minute her mother was robbed of her grandmother's love, every second the woman had stolen, sending angry blood bursting through her as it seemed to have hummed below surface all day long. "You stay the hell away from my family, if you know what's good for you." She then brushed past her angrily, intent on not giving her one more blessed moment of her life.

Turning to watch the angry little snipe storm away and up the steps, Helena cackled out loud in glee. It was always so easy to get a rise out of them, simpleton peasants that they were. She was looking forward to putting the next phase of her plan into action to make their miserable existence even more so. As she gloated, she stepped back, her foot hitting a mooring where it stuck up out of the board, throwing her body off balance and backward, where her arms flailed aimlessly as she tumbled to the water below. Her head cracked loudly where it smacked against a plank, and as the pain registered, she became despairing aware of sinking, the water instantly soaking the heavy fur to pull her under. The burning lungs that filled with dark, vermin ridden harbor water registered with the last drowning thought that ran through her head. That simple guttersnipe ended up being the death of her afterall, much like she'd always feared that she might be.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam hugged her son close, the instant, constant comfort and love that always washed her in those moments, calming her troubled spirit.

"I missed you, baby. Did you have a good day?"

Danny pulled back from her to smile widely, "It was awesome!" He turned to look at his father, who was standing behind them on the porch, watching as the pair greeted each other at Alexis'. "Can we do it again, Daddy?"

"You bet we will!" Jason reached a hand out to ruffle his boy's hair. "Thanks for a great day - I'll call you to say goodnight, okay?"

"Okay." Danny ran past Sam into the living room.

Jason was anxious to know how she was. He had the strangest urge to take her into his arms and hold her until the pain went away, and it jolted him to realize how much he wanted to stop her from hurting. He noted the watery smile that followed her next statement.

"Thanks for spending time with him - it makes him so happy when he gets to see you."

"I was the idiot staying away - today was the best day I've had in a long time."

When she shifted from one leg to the other, he remembered that hers hadn't gone so great. As she moved to step back and close the door, he shot a tentative hand out.

"Do you have a minute?"

Sam eyed him warily. She really just wanted to go to bed and stay there for awhile, without company, but she didn't' want to seem rude. "Sure." She grabbed her jacket from the landing, stepped out onto the porch, pulling it on as she walked in front of him to the bench.

Jason couldn't believe how nervous he was. "Are you okay?" He stopped near the bench then sat next to her gingerly, watching her face for an honest reaction. It was schooled to his gaze.

"I'm fine." Sam met his eyes briefly. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I went to the house, Sam. I saw Drake."

Her eyes fell to the hands she rubbed together in her lap. "I'm fine, Jason. Things happen."

"What was the thing that happened today?" His voice was soft as he tried to prod her to share. The eyes that looked up at him said she would do anything but, so he added, "I know it's not my business, but I want to make sure you're okay."

Sam looked down at her hands again. She'd really hoped she'd had the last conversation about this today. Lord knows, he was the very last person she wanted to brooch it with in the first place.

"What happened, happened. I won't be getting married tomorrow, and life goes on."

He found himself wishing he knew her better - he'd be able to tell if this was a total front, or if she'd really be able to handle it. He looked at the stubborn jut of her chin and lift of her shoulders and he instinctively knew…she would handle it…the Sam he'd come to know was tough. But even tough people hurt too.

"I'm sorry, Sam. Is there anything I can do?"

She looked at him again, her brown eyes a pool he wanted to dive into for respite.

"Yes - you can change the subject. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No." Yes, it was, but he didn't want to leave, so he was thinking fast to find something else. "When were we in Italy?"

Sam was thrown off guard - she wasn't expecting anything personal about them. "How did you know that we were?"

"Something Danny said earlier."

The nerves that trembled through her were unwelcome. She didn't want to remember anything about them - it hurt enough that her life had derailed once already today…going down memory lane with the other half of the best memories she had, who couldn't remember a single one, was not something she wanted to do. But she had promised. _I'll fill in what I can_ , was what she'd said.

"Siena was a really long time ago. Michael was taken by AJ, and we were on his trail from the Bahamas. We got there and found he'd sent his pilot alone as a decoy, so we returned to Port Charles. That was Siena."

He was shocked at the rampant disappointment that coursed through him. "That was it? It wasn't a getaway? The Bahamas…it was just work?"

Sam nodded and shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. "Michael was missing and you wouldn't rest until you found him. Turned out AJ had brought him back here…he needed money and was tricking Skye to get it. We caught up to him though, before he could leave again. Found Michael safe - tormented with lies AJ told him, but safe."

A silent moment passed between them as Sam reminisced on that time and Jason pondered on his odd feelings of regret.

"So, I never took you to any of these exotic places on vacation? I just dragged you along to work and that was it?" He knew he'd been brain damaged for years but he couldn't have been that big a fool!

For the first time since he'd arrived, he saw a genuine smile transform her beautiful face. The ping it shot through his heart made him realize how much he loved to see Sam smile.

"Well, we were working _those_ times and you wanted to other times, but work or something always came up…but you _did_ take me to Hawaii, and that was the best trip…" Her voice trailed as her eyes went soft in memory. Then she resurfaced and cleared her throat. "Sonny kept you pretty busy - when it wasn't business, it was usually him and, or, Carly, going off the rails and you trying to keep them from blowing their kids' lives apart."

Jason's eyes dropped to study the floor, her words echoing in his head. "So, I never bothered to do the nice things for you that boyfriends and husbands should? Baby sitting Sonny and Carly came first? Why did you put up with it?"

Sam could hear what he didn't say. Finally, after all this time - he was asking about their lives, their experiences, them - together. She wondered why, but decided to keep from asking, reminding herself that it couldn't be fun living in the dark…especially around people who had answers you didn't.

"You were the best man I've ever known, Jason. You gave me a home, friendship, safety, love and security, when you really didn't have to. You didn't owe me anything, and I didn't have much to give in return, but that never stopped you from being there everytime I fell, everytime I needed you. No, you were never much for romantic getaways and such, yet you still were the most romantic man I ever knew."

She turned her body towards him on the bench. "I never needed fancy trips and expensive gifts to know that you loved me…you showed me everyday, by the way you let me in…you didn't do that with people. I knew by the way you'd hold me, the way you treated me…like I mattered, like I was special. Nobody had ever done that before you."

He had a hard time believing that, even as he marveled at the love she talked about. Since he'd come to know her, he couldn't see how anybody could be unkind to someone so sincere and direct, so vibrant and giving. Then it hit him - _he_ had treated her unkindly in recent months himself, so maybe it wasn't such a stretch afterall. Hadn't he been the one to turn his back on their marriage and their lives like it was unimportant in the now? What a fucking idiot he was turning out to be.

They'd fallen into silence again and Sam worried that she'd inadvertently said too much. Had she just showed her heart still on her sleeve after all this time? Jason wouldn't be interested in her old feelings of adoration and idolization - he wanted useful information that he could connect to. She cleared her throat again, reminding herself to stick to the semantics and keep her information basic. That's what would be better for them both.

"Do you mind if we talked more some other time - it's been a long day." Sam needed to get away from the direction her thoughts were taking, to get away from him for a bit.

"Yes, sure." Disappointment coursed through him, but she needed time to herself - he understood that. Finding out that he wished she needed _him_ instead, was something he'd definitely keep to himself. Standing up, he gave her one last look, then left her to get what she needed. It hurt that it wasn't him.

The pain wasn't over for the day either, picking up almost the minute he stepped through the door at home. It was a little early for candlelight, but that didn't stop it being on a table set for two. The aroma from the kitchen was delicious but didn't make him hungry, just like the sight of his fiancé in a sexy pink number didn't either. She looked beautiful and he felt like he was lucky to have someone like her in his corner, but all he wanted to do was relax in silence. That was not to be.

"There you are - I was hoping you'd make it home before I had to leave for work. I tried to get someone to cover for me but no luck." He watched her approach, standing still when she helped him remove the jacket, watched her hang it on the rack, and went obediently when she took his hand and led him to the table. "I hope you're hungry - I made you a rack of lamb, with those baby potatoes you like."

"Looks great - you didn't have to all this." He took a seat where she put him and returned the kiss she bent and placed on his lips, where she lingered and smiled.

"I wanted to. We haven't had a chance to really connect lately and I don't want us to lose sight of us." She sat across from him and added, "Promise me, Jason…promise me that we won't ever lose sight of who we are to each other." Her voice cracked with the thought of him leaving her, and before she could stop them, the tears welled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

He saw the worry in her eyes the streaming tears didn't hide, and the strain in her attempted smile, and the guilt he'd carried from the night before doubled. He was hurting the woman he loved and he really didn't mean to. She hadn't done anything to warrant her fiancé not treating her the way she deserved, and he needed to do better.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. It's been a weird few days and I'm a little preoccupied…I didn't mean to pull away." He reached across the table and took her hand, seeing how the small gesture instantly brightened her face. "I'm here now…I promise I'll do better."

She dabbed her eyes with the napkin then grabbed the iPad sitting next to it, handing it to him across the table. "I have the perfect way you can make it up to me."

Dubiously, Jason took it and read the itinerary. "You want to go away? Now?"

"Please, Jason? We really need this, and I finally have some time off from the hospital. Just one week…you and me, in a secluded spot, getting back to each other. Please don't say no." Her lip trembled with the tears that were about start again.

"Okay." He reached across the table for her hand again. "Please don't cry. You're right, we need some time alone together." Desperately. He needed to remind himself that this was the woman he was in love with. This was the woman he would marry and grow old with. She needed him, he'd promised the boys they'd always be family - that he'd adopt Cameron and Aiden as soon as he married their mom. He had promises to keep and a woman who loved him back. He needed to do better.

When her eyes got their sparkle back and her smile spread wide, he roamed her beautiful face. A man could do worse than his sainted, kind hearted, giving Nurse Webber. With that reminder, Jason made himself present to enjoy a meal with his hard working spouse-to-be, sending her off with a wide smile and a kiss that weakened her knees.

"Goodnight, lover. I hate that I have to go, but it's everything to me to have you to come home to. Dream about me tonight, okay?"

He watched her leave before turning in early, shot from a long, full day…but it wasn't his dainty fiancé that filled his hot, torrid dreams that night. No alabaster, soft featured beauty sailing through the realms of dream for him, but rather an exotic, luminous goddess with chestnut eyes of desire and fire, that burned an inferno as she lit his brain, his heart, his loins…igniting an explosive current that ran deep all through him, jarring him awake to sit up in bed panting, sweaty and excited. He looked down to the dampness on his thigh, alarmed at the adolescent reaction his body had to the most erotic, electric dream he could remember.

After he'd shocked his system with an alarmingly cold shower and changed the sheets, he remembered his son's question earlier that day. Guess he does dreams afterall.

Elizabeth arrived at work with an acute anticipation that made her steps lighter and her heart glow. The faster she worked through the motions of her shift, the quicker she could get back to her desire. Feeling how her spirits had been significantly lifted from where they'd fallen earlier that day - her Jason wasn't going anywhere - she breathed again. He might have been temporarily distracted by old, inconsequential feelings that he didn't know where to put at first, but she knew they'd now been laid aside once again. He wanted to marry her…he wanted the family they'd made together…he wanted her!

She looked over the patient list for the night and startled at one name in particular. Hurriedly making her way to the listed cubicle, she caught him just as he was leaving.

"Patrick! What happened to you?" She touched his casted hand gingerly, her face wretched with concern.

The arrogant doctor pulled his injured hand to his chest, his face stony from recalling the incident that sent him there, after trying uselessly to fix it himself at home.

"Your _fiancé_ , that's what!" He stormed around her and stopped at the desk where he hurriedly signed his release. Thank goodness his dominant hand was his left, so he hadn't been rendered completely handicapped…except for surgery - his livelihood. That son-of-a-bitch should've just stayed in the hell he'd disappeared to.

Elizabeth knew she couldn't have heard him right. She moved up to him at the desk, pulling on his arm for attention.

"Jason did this to you? Why? What happened?"

The surgeon laid the pen down and turned to face her. "You should really reconsider opening your life to that violent bastard - he's no good for anybody." He waved the cast at her. "He just blocked me from surgery for who knows how long, because he can't control that blasted temper - he never could." He turned to grab his jacket from where he'd rested it on the station. "I don't know what the hell you all see in him."

Elizabeth stepped in his path to block is exit. "I don't understand - why would Jason attack you? Patrick, what is this about?"

He stopped and looked down on her confusion, feeling sorry for her all at once. He'd known her for years, she was good and kind and the bastard didn't deserve her. The murdering thug had never deserved any of the wonderful women who'd flocked him unabashedly for years, his own wife included.

"Why do you think, Elizabeth? Something I said about his wife didn't sit well with the hoodlum and he let me know. Silly me, thinking I had a right to be upset when she dumped me the day before our wedding…silly me for thinking that she was _MY_ fiancé!"

She took a step back in shock. "Jason doesn't have a wife - not yet. That's about to be me, nobody else!" She saw the pain he was in and felt for him. "I'm sorry, Patrick…I'm so sorry she did that to you." She rested her hand on his arm lightly. "She didn't deserve you in the first place - you're way too good for her. She did you a favor today, you'll soon see it that way, just watch."

He didn't want to hear how losing the woman he'd banked on keeping him and his daughter from a life of loneliness and longing, was a blessing. He certainly didn't want to hear how the man who'd left him physically scarred, was some irreplaceable savior…he'd heard enough of that to serve a lifetime. He'd had just about enough.

"Elizabeth, you're a very good friend - you were there for me and my daughter in a major way when we thought we lost Robin. You have the heart of a saint, and that's probably why you can't see what this man is doing to you, but as your friend, I'm telling you - get out! Get out now - before he takes every bit of good in you when he leaves. I know you don't want to hear it…you believe he's some kind of blessing in your life, but he's the same damn curse he's always been. Those two have some sick, ridiculous connection that keeps them glued to each other…I found out the hard way, but you don't have to. Run, Elizabeth…take your life back and run away from that man. Jason Morgan is only going to break you!"

"Patrick, I know you're hurt, but that's because Sam is the same selfish slut she's always been - _you_ tried to turn her into a housewife - don't fault my Jason for that. He loves me, I know he does…it's not his fault she's throwing herself at him again. I can assure you that he _doesn't_ want her!"

He moved to the elevator and pushed the call button. "For your sake, Elizabeth, I hope you're right."

"I know I am! Jason and I just made plans tonight to go away together - he wouldn't have done that if he was interested in starting up some ridiculous fling with that woman."

That gave him pause. Had he misread the situation and jumped to an erroneous conclusion? Was their situation worth taking another look at? Did he stand a chance of bringing Sammy back home?


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: First and foremost, no - I did not switch sides and no, I am by no means a Liz supporter. If you've read any of my other work you know by now how I feel about this chick, so you know it's coming. I know she's hard to stomach forefront in this, but it's actually necessary for this particular story, as the point of it is to show Jason sticking it out after the reveal (which he would no doubt have done if she hadn't lied), because we all know him to be a guilt-ridden character who tries to do the honorable thing for other people. He's a huge self-sacrificing individual, so I believe that's how he would've played it…but I also know that it wouldn't have lasted because he's in love with Sam, has always been in love with Sam, and will always be in love with Sam. They will always find each other, and this story will be no different - I can promise you that._**

 ** _I'm really sorry it's been hard to read - thank you for sticking it out, but I understand if you can't._**

 **Chapter 9**

Jason turned his bike down the dirt road, slowing to a stop near the smaller pathway that led behind a thicket of trees. He'd ridden for miles out of town, at first going nowhere in particular - just out for a ride to clear his mind - when the direction he traveled started to look very familiar. Not recognizing anything in particular, but also knowing he'd ridden this way before, he allowed the curiosity to lead him until he got to this point. Looking around in wonder, he could see nothing that would bid him to stop at the spot, yet he knew that he'd arrived.

Alighting from the bike and removing the helmet, he looked around again but saw nothing new. No dwelling, no waterfall, no picturesquely compelling view that would draw him there…yet he knew he was in the right place. The tiny trail. Moving around the bike, he followed the instincts that had led him thus far, clearing the thicket of trees to bulge his eyes in surprise when he saw the cabin hidden from view of the main trail.

As he neared cautiously, he was even more surprised to recognize the SUV parked to the side. Venturing to knock, Jason waited anxiously until the door opened.

"Jason!"

"Hi."

Sam squinted her eyes shut then opened to find him indeed there.

"What are you doing here?"

"May I come in?"

She stepped aside and waved him in, her mind racing to remember if she'd ever told him about the cabin. "Of course - it's your place, afterall."

"My place?" He turned around to face her at the door. "I own a cabin in the woods?"

Sam moved past him to reclaim the seat she had vacated in front of the fire, grabbing hold of the mug she'd laid down to answer the door.

"Yep. Like I told you before - a lot of things are yours. This is one of many surprises you'll find in your portfolio, Mr. Morgan."

He walked over to the roaring fire and stretched his arms out, turning his hands over to warm them evenly. The wind had picked up on his ride, but he had been way too curious to turn back. Now he was doubly glad he hadn't.

"Did I come here alot?" His gaze was fixated on the jumping fire as he tried to recall a visit to the cozy love nest. Must have been their spot.

"I'm not quite certain, actually. We've been here together a few times but you liked to ride your bike and spend time alone with your thoughts sometimes. You probably ended up here - it's always been one of your favorite places - even before you built the cabin."

Jason unzipped his leather jacket and turned to look at her tiny frame, swathed in a fuzzy blanket on the couch, staring ahead into the fire. She looked so inviting and warm.

"I didn't usually tell you where I was going?"

Sam smiled warmly. "We didn't have restrictions on each other. If you wanted to jump on your bike and go for a ride, you were more than free to do that at any time. We didn't keep secrets, if that's what you're asking, and we didn't lie to each other. Not after we found out the hard way how painful that can be."

Sam took a sip of hot chocolate and closed her eyes to the intrusive presence his six foot two, sculpted, chiseled form had brought to her quiet afternoon. So much for alone time, alone!

Jason sat on the couch next to her and studied her beautiful face. "I didn't mean to imply anything. I'm just not used to that kind of open trust and freedom, I guess. Did I trust you the same way?" He knew instinctively that he did.

"Without question."

She was starting to feel bad. She'd purposely neglected offering him a beverage, simply hoping he'd decide against staying, but he seemed settled for the time being. Sighing as she remembered her manners, she got up from the couch to refill her own cup.

"Can I offer you anything?"

Jason smiled. He knew she was offering because he got comfortable and decided to stay and he knew he should feel bad about intruding on time she was obviously trying to enjoy alone, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to stay. These days he was finding himself drawn more and more to her company and always hating to leave. This was no different. It sent tingly shockwaves through him to find her secluded in a place that he just learned meant a lot to them - even now - after all this time and how he'd treated her lately. Sam Morgan continued to intrigue him so.

"I'll have what you're having, thanks."

When she rejoined him on the couch and handed him a steaming cup, he struck up conversation to get his focus off the road his thoughts had taken.

"When were we last here together?"

Sam thought about the question, remembering the precious few days they'd spent there as new parents…or so they thought. Those two, blissful days had been heaven-sent magic, after the scare they'd had. That it had been too good to last hadn't occurred to either of them then, but they sure found out later.

"That was a really long time ago."

"You promised." When she looked at him annoyed, he reminded her, "You promised to fill in the blanks - you can't take it back now."

He was right. She knew that no matter how many times she tried to get out of it, she'd given her word. Fine…but she'd filter what she told him about that visit, because if she told him about the pregnancy, she'd have to tell him about Hawaii, and if she told him about Hawaii, she'd have to tell him about Franco, and she just wasn't ready.

"It was shortly after we got married. You thought I could use a couple days away, and you were right."

"Why - was something going on?"

Exactly why she didn't want to say anything. "There was usually always something going on with us, Jason - Port Charles kept us very busy. Between your business and Sonny's tantrums, my job and living in a family of women, there was never a dull moment between us."

Sam sipped from the cup, refusing to meet his eyes, hoping he'd be satisfied with that answer. Usually he wouldn't be, and he wouldn't stop until he got her to fess up. But that had been _her_ Jason.

Jason knew she was evading, but if she chose to keep some things close to the vest right now, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt. He couldn't explain it but strangely enough…he trusted Sam Morgan. Had, since he met her and they struck up an unassuming, light, airy friendship…as if they'd been friends all their lives.

"Did it work?"

"What?"

"After you got some rest - did it drive the monsters away?"

"For a while, yes…those two days worked wonders."

"Is that why you're here now?"

"I actually come here more now than when we were married."

"Ouch. I'll try not to take that personally."

Her laugh warmed his heart, then something about the melodious sound of it opened a portal that played out in the middle of the room. She was clothed in black, they both were..laughing about baby gates and changing diapers. He was going to childproof the penthouse and she was going to learn all about babies… _she was pregnant with their baby!_ The way she glowed, the radiance of her hundred watt smile…she was happy. He was thrilled and looking forward to the birth of their child. _Their child._

"You were pregnant with Danny!"

Sam heard the whisper and her head jerked in his direction in surprise, the faraway look in his eyes telling her everything he didn't say.

"You're remembering!"

He heard her voice in the room but it sounded like an echo to the one playing out with the other version of him. Something had been weighing heavily on them for awhile, and he was so relieved to see her smile. He wanted to keep the pain away from her, to help her forget and never think of it again.

"What did I want to take you away from?" His blood started to boil and he wanted to kill somebody…somebody had hurt her.

Sam rose from the chair and set the cup down on the side table. No way was she going to bring Franco into her peaceful afternoon - not today. "That's a story we'll definitely be tabling for a later time." She looked back at him and saw the questions in his eyes, and while she felt bad to leave him without answers, she just couldn't - not today. "Some other time, Jason…please."

He wouldn't push. Whatever it was still caused her pain, and it was bad enough to make him want to kill. He was desperate to know, but something in the haunting that appeared in her eyes stopped him from pushing her. "Okay."

"You know what - you still have some stuff here. You should probably go through to see if you still want any of it."

He rose to follow her towards the small closet in the far corner of the spacious room. "Oh, yeah? Anything good?"

"You're not the hoarding type, so I'm pretty sure you'll find something useful to you." She took the phone from her pocket and checked the time. "I'm gonna go - I have to pick up Danny." She changed direction for the front door and Sam was taken aback by the sense of loneliness she felt at leaving him. She didn't want to go.

Jason watched her slide the coat on and an empty ache echoed right through him. He didn't want her to go. "Huh…Sam?"

"Yeah?" He suddenly looked sad. Did he want her to stay?

"Next week is Christmas…do you mind if I got to spend some of it with Danny?" Even a small smile transformed her beautiful face in the most genuine way.

"Sure! He'd like that."

Jason walked her out and watched her drive away, the sense of loneliness without her confounding and confusing him. It was as though the universe kept drawing him to her, showing him how he was with her. He'd been running into her in the most unlikely places, this one being even more odd than the last. As he turned and reentered the cabin, Jason once again felt the anger from earlier. Somebody had hurt her, and so badly that it pained her to even talk about.

He strolled the room in silence, reacquainting himself with its contents, finding little pieces of a life he'd long ago left behind. Sam had kept up with the place…it looked lived in and cozy. As he passed a counter in the tiny kitchenette that housed a solitary beer bottle, he stopped short, fixated at the label. That brand of beer…it was the same locally brewed brand he'd found a few months ago in a little out of the way spot he'd happened upon on the outskirts of town. Did Sam enjoy the same kind? He opened the fridge to check, and wouldn't you know…stocked with several cases of the stuff. The odds just kept on piling up with them. Closing the fridge, Jason felt a light spasm as if he'd been shocked, a memory playing out crystally clear in his mind.

 _"_ _I love that the only thing this place came stocked with is beer"_

 _"_ _I didn't, ah…I didn't know we'd end up here"_

 _"_ _I know, and that's what makes this so wonderful"_

Jason leant hard against the counter as the emotions from his memory tore through him and left him breathless, watching as it all unfolded slowly. _What the hell was that feeling?_ The conversation, the connection, the depth, the openness between them - he felt so _free_ with her. She didn't make him want to hide any part of himself from her…she accepted and loved everything about him and he, her. _God, he loved her!_ Nobody, nobody had ever been _HOME_ for him. Sam was _home_ for him!

His body moved to stand upright…he'd built this place, for **_her_** _!_ Looking towards the front door, it was as if he saw them physically leave after spending some magical alone time together. They were so happy, so in love and at peace and hopeful in a place he'd built.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Jason went to the closet to see what it held. He needed a different train of thought to get his breathing under control, but as he eyed the contents, he felt maybe going through mementos wouldn't exactly achieve that. More and more it was turning out that he was unprepared for the emotions his memories of Sam held for him. And each time he experienced one and it left him confounded and breathless, Carly's words would echo like a distant siren behind them… _you're 'in love' with Sam!_

But that wouldn't do! He had commitments and obligations elsewhere. He was in love and about to marry someone else, someone of his choosing, someone he owed a whole lot to. So why did every run in with Sam leave him so achy for more of her?

Spotting a row of black t-shirts hanging before him, he swooped them together and pulled the duffle from the shelf above it, stuffing them in with the pair of biker boots on the floor. He'd been meaning to get some ever since Sam dropped his bike off…now he didn't have to.

The memory was playing on a loop in his mind, the conversation intriguing his senses that screamed for him to learn more about the easy friendship that surrounded them. She was so easy to talk to, so easy to laugh with, so hot to love on. Putting out the fire quickly, Jason grabbed the duffle and hurriedly left the love nest. Absolutely no good was going to come from him lingering in a place that held the type of heat that was burning him up within its walls, but as he got on the bike and retreated the way he'd come, he knew that he'd definitely be back.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam didn't really need to get Danny right away - she'd really just needed to get away from the close proximity to his father, in the place where they'd made him! Breathing easier the minute she headed back to town, she also felt bad about leaving him with questions…but she just wasn't in the head space at the time to deal with the weight of her Franco experience.

But speak of the fucking devil - who's the first person she runs into when she stops to grab a coffee from Kelly's? Smack dab into the dweeb who wasn't looking where he was going when he opened the door, because his phone was more interesting apparently.

Startled, Sam stepped back and met his gaze, about to apologize, until she saw who it was, the words dying in her throat before they could even make it that far. _Sorry_ , is one word the creep would _never_ hear from her.

"Sam. Oh, gosh - I'm so sorry - are you alright?"

"No! Constantly running into the shit who assaulted me on my honeymoon and marred the birth of my child, will never be _alright_! Get the fuck out of my way!"

She brushed past him hotly, not caring one damn bit about the puppy dog eyes he sported for her benefit whenever he saw her, nor the puppy dog way he always stopped to stare at her receding back. If she could stab him in the neck and not spend a lifetime locked away from her son, she'd gladly part with the dagger she kept in her boots.

"You know, Sam - some would say that hanging onto the past and carrying that kind of anger daily, weighs heavily on the soul. Don't you want to feel lighter by just forgiving old slights and letting the grudge die?"

Sam spun around to see he'd followed her inside, hovering behind her at the counter as she pulled her gloves off. She wanted to slap the ridiculous snide from his condescending face.

"What part of drop dead, is lost on you? What I want to die, is you - can you make that happen? I'll put the _'slight'_ aside when you dry up and blow away to hell."

His soft chuckle annoyed her, so before she let her hand travel the course it itched for, Sam turned back to the counter and placed her order for a large coffee.

"Sammy!"

The sound of her name used like that, once made her smile. Now the surgeon was just one more man on her list of those to avoid and regret. Sam drummed her fingers on the counter in anticipation for the coffee being poured, taking it and placing the bills in the waitress' hand before turning to face the man she could go through her days not seeing anymore.

"Patrick."

"I've been calling - why haven't you returned any?"

"You've said everything to me that you need to, don't you think? What else could we possibly have left to talk about?"

His face actually crossed with shame for a brief moment.

"Come on, Sammy - we've been friends for a really long time - more than that for the last year. Surely that warrants me five minutes?"

Feeling the eyes of the other patrons on them, Sam gestured outside and exited ahead of him, stopping on the empty terrace to turn and face him. "You have one minute."

"Can we sit?"

"Fifty-eight seconds, Patrick."

"Fine - look, I'm sorry for the way things blew up the other day. You surprised me with that confession, okay - I know I didn't handle it very well." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and rested it on his hip while he pleaded with the open palm of the other. "We need to have a conversation, Sam - you owe me that much!"

"I owe you?" Sam repeated his words softly. "What I owed you was honesty - I gave you that and you used it to slap me. There's nothing else we need to talk about, Patrick. We were making a mistake, and now we're not - we don't need to talk anymore about it."

"Just like that? You can just end us, just like that? What about all the promises you made to me, Sam? You don't think you owe me five minutes of trying to make me understand why you suddenly can't see us together anymore?"

"I already told you why, and you didn't want to hear it! You're such a fucking hypocrite, Patrick. You, of all people - you, who lived through the very same thing that happened to me and Jason, can stand here pouting like you have no clue. I was honest with you! I thought you deserved the respect of knowing what you were getting into, the respect to not be bamboozled and lied to, and you turned around and showed your ass!"

"What did you expect? It was the day before our wedding and you tell me you're confused by your feelings for another man? How was I supposed to react?"

"Don't act like you don't know that Jason has _never_ been just some other man for me! I have never once lied to you about my feelings where he's concerned - never, and if you've been paying attention you would know, just like the _world_ knows, that when it comes to Jason Morgan, they don't make them any better for me!"

Sam was getting angrier and feeling meaner. "But that's _exactly_ the problem isn't it? From day one the brilliant Dr. Drake has never measured up to the brain damaged thug, who's beneath him, right doc? How's that possible, huh - can't I see how magnificent and omnipotent thou are? Jason Morgan, shining brighter than you…it was okay when he was fish food, but flesh and blood, all man - what am I, blind? Oh no, wait - what was it you said - _he'll never choose me!_ "

"He won't! He didn't, and he isn't going to - can't you see that?" He tried to take hold of her hand, "Come home, Sammy. Jason has chosen to make his life with Elizabeth - that's who he loves - that's who he's taking on a Christmas trip. Come home, where you belong."

Flashing his hand from where he'd grabbed her, Sam dismissed the stab wound his Christmas trip garb had inflicted.

"You and I don't have a home. Not only did you turn out to be a bigger ass than I ever thought you were, but you're a mean one too. I'd rather be alone than with you. I won't settle anymore, Patrick…not for you, not for a husband who loves somebody else - not for anyone. Just leave me alone, okay? Go on about your life and leave me the hell alone."

Turning from him and walking briskly away from the repeated sounding of her name, Sam rolled her eyes to the sky and shook her head. Three for three. Which other man was next to ruin her fucking day?


	10. Chapter 10

Sam stormed the corner in a hurry to get to her car and away from everybody who was pissing her off, feeling the need for some desperate time alone. She'd just taken a couple steps and started to pull her keys from her pocket when she felt someone grab her shoulder from behind.

"Wait - we need to t…"

But she didn't want to wait! She didn't want to be touched and she didn't care today. Still angry and startled by the sudden grab, Sam swung around with a pointed elbow that connected hard to ribcage, sending the hand flying from her shoulder and the assaulter stumbling back in pain, yelping harder when she followed up with a swinging kick to his neck that sent him flying backward to the ground.

She was about to run up on him and stomp hard with an heel when she caught herself, realizing that she really didn't need to kick a dog already down.

 ** _"What the hell's the matter with you?"_**

She stood over the groaning heap and had to fight the burning urge to kick him in the gut where he laid. "Me? What the fuck are you doing running up on me, much less putting your filthy hand anywhere near me?"

"I just wanted to finish our conversation - you didn't need to puncture my lung!"

"Consider yourself lucky I don't drive your nose into your face for ever touching me again, you piece a shit. I've warned you before - lay hands on me again I'll fucking kill you!"

He struggled to a sitting position, the breath still stinging as it coursed through his lungs in his struggle to breathe. "I was sick, Sam…how many times do we need to go over this?"

"We don't have to go over shit! You don't say anything to me, stay the hell out of my way, and we won't need to exchange a goddamn word!"

"Boy, you sure know how to hold a grudge."

"Grudge?" She wanted to kick him again, but again she controlled the violent urge, choosing instead to glare his way. "You **_ASSAULTED_** **_ME_** _!_ I don't give a shit about some ridiculous brain tumor defense you get to clear your conscience and fool the rest of this town…you watched my husband and me in the privacy of our cottage for weeks…drugged me and entered my bathroom where you assaulted my naked body, on a **_whim_**! You and I have **_NOTHING_** to discuss ever, and I swear on your worthless life that if you **_EVER_** touch me again, I will fucking **_END_** you!"

Franco quivered from the force of her anger, realizing that he used serious misjudgment when he approached her. Her ire was so surprising, he couldn't understand why she insisted on holding a grievance when everybody else understood and at least tried to move past his old indiscretions. Rising painfully to his feet, he faced her shakily.

"I'm so sick of you sitting on your high horse judging me, like you don't have skeletons in your own closets too. I'm not the only one in this town with shit I'd like to forget - you've done some disgusting things too and you expect forgiveness for your sins - why don't I get the same, huh?"

"Again you think I give a shit about you and what you think of me. The only thing I want from you is to take the other side of the street when you see me coming. Go live your miserable, worthless life away from me, and we'll get along fabulously!"

Turning her back on the man she couldn't stand to breathe the same air with, Sam continued on her way to her car, unaware of the eyes that followed her from across the street.

Jason had pulled up in front of the restaurant and alighted the bike, when his eye caught movement to his far left. He turned his head just in time to see Franco hit the ground and Sam about to stomp him there, and just as he was about to run to her assistance, he stopped in awe…she was the one left standing, after taking down almost two hundred pounds more than her size. Watching keenly for the moment that she might need him, he found himself in full admiration of the way she handled herself. Franco was quite evidently hurt, even when he stumbled to a stand, his frame remained slightly stooped with a hand gripping his ribs.

As he watched Sam storm away and get into her SUV, Jason once again wondered on the immense hatred he felt towards Franco Baldwin. He'd noticed it from the very first encounter with the man and had felt it every time since. He knew nothing about him except for what he'd heard about his past and the removal of the tumor that redeemed his misdeeds, yet everytime the man was near, he felt an uncontrollable urge to squeeze the life from his body. He was friends with Elizabeth and she'd tried to tell Jason that he should give him a chance, that medical facts prove the man was not in control of the things that happened before. So why did he still want to kill him all the time? And why did Sam? He'd never seen her that angry, not even at him…and he'd pushed her buttons extensively, on more than one occasion in recent weeks.

Standing next to his bike with his hands stuffed inside his jeans pockets, Jason watched the man as he watched Sam drive away, then turned as if sensing eyes locked on him, startled when he saw Jason, then hurried towards his own car. What was that look of instant dread before he scurried away?

Feeling uneasy, like he was definitely missing something important, Jason continued into Kelly's to pick up the order for the boys, making a mental note to definitely ask Sam about Franco Baldwin.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was two days before Christmas and Jason was getting drawn up in the boys' excitement of the season, their delight becoming infectious. He endeavored to savor what would be his first Christmas with them and he was really looking forward to starting traditions they could build on and treasure for the rest of their lives. Danny and Aidan had given him lists as long as their arms, Jake said all he wanted was to have his dad with them for Christmas, and Cameron tried to convince him he was too grown up now to join in the excitement over presents.

As he came through the front door laden with shopping bags, he felt thankful he'd found everything on the younger boys' lists, making them happy being the only thing he'd enjoyed about the experience. He could imagine that he'd shied away from shopping in his former life, seeing how much he craved the end of the day when he could leave the crowded stores and bustling people in his rearview and head home to a quiet evening with his fiancé.

Heading upstairs to hide the goodies from prying eyes, he entered the bedroom and stopped in his tracks at the sight of Elizabeth, getting ready to stick her legs inside a very familiar garment.

 _"Where did you get that?"_

She spun at the sound of his voice, put off by the angry tone, but happy he was there to see how much she loved his gift. Her smile was radiant in welcome.

"You scared me! I'm sorry - I just couldn't wait. I wanted to surp…"

"Give it!" He'd dropped the bags near the bed and closed in on her angrily.

Her head whipped when the stinging bark of his voice slapped her with its ferocity, leaving her bristling with surprise as she held it uncertainly. "What's the matter with you?"

" ** _Give it! Now!"_** Flaring anger burned inside him when she held it for too long. She shouldn't be touching it at all.

She looked at the hand he held out in demand, still shocked at the unusual emotional outburst.

"I'm sorry! I found it and just couldn't wait to put it on for you - why are you so angry? It's not like I meant to snoop." She bristled again when he snatched the garment from her hands, noting how tightly he clutched it.

He knew he was glaring at her, probably even making her frightened, but she shouldn't have touched it. "What the hell made you think it's yours?"

"What? Who else would it be for?"

Of all the questions for him to ask, she hadn't expected that one…it sent her gut lurching towards the floor. The bosom had looked several times her size but she wouldn't fault him for not knowing her bra size…not unless…

He'd turned away from her to stuff the prized piece in the duffle on the floor by the closet, his body tense and cold when he did.

"I asked you a question, Jason - who else would **_my_** fiancé be buying lingerie for?"

He fumed right through her righteous indignation. "You deliberately went through my things - what were you looking for?"

Her back stiffened at the accusation, even though she knew she was in the wrong. He still had some explaining to do now.

"I came across it by accident, actually. I admit, I should have left it where I found it, but I just wanted to surprise you by showing you how much I loved it…why are you behaving this way?"

Frustrated, he grabbed the duffle and headed for the doorway. "I'm going out."

"What? We had plans, Jason. You promised we would take the boys to see that new movie - they're waiting for us."

He stopped in his tracks, feeling bad that he'd forgotten all about it, but not appeased nor calm enough to stay. She'd invaded his privacy by searching through his things, touching something hat had nothing at all to do with her. It didn't belong to her.

"We have to do it later - I have to be somewhere." He continued to stride out of the room and hurried down the stairs, fully expecting it when she followed.

"Where?"

When he strode to the door and would've left without answering her, she grabbed at his arm.

"Wait just a damn minute! I have a right to know where you're going and who you're taking that to!" She injected large sobs into her voice and blinked the tears rapidly into view, peppering her cries with the wrangled sound of one devastated. "Jason, what's going on?"

He didn't stop. She had no way of knowing how close she came to losing an arm if she hadn't moved it instantly. He was so riled up that it frightened him a little. He never got that way with her. But she had no right getting her paws anywhere near it.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Whoever said you can never go home again, obviously never lived in Penthouse two at Harborview Towers. Sam opened the balcony door leading from the master bedroom and breathed in the cold air that washed over everything. No place else had ever given her the warmth of home this place surrounded her with, and she knew now, no place ever would. There's more to _home_ than four walls and a roof - it's a place where memories are created and love learns to soar, where aches are comforted and pain finds a genuine balm, where inhibitions are coaxed and courage learns to fly. Home is where the heart truly lives.

Leaving the doors open to freshen the closed up smell of the place, Sam went into Danny's room and started to unpack his boxes. Her family had shown up at Patrick's house and made quick time of leaving no trace of either of them in the place that had proven to be but a temporary abode afterall. Silently vowing to never uproot her child again, Sam set to making his room look like he'd never left it.

"What are you doing here?"

She was surprised to find Jason on the other side of the front door when she answered a knock. She wasn't expecting to see him that day.

"May I come in?" His voice still sounded gravelly to his own ears, and he hadn't been able to shake the anger he'd felt at Elizabeth.

"Of course. Something the matter?"

Jason held the bag out to her, apology taking over his features. "I'm sorry Sam - it got swept up in the t-shirts I took with me the other day."

Curious, she took the bag and opened it, her mouth dropping open when she got a look at the contents. She looked up at him, her face going red.

"How?"

"It must've been hanging among them and I didn't notice - I just grabbed everything altogether and stuffed the bag."

She had to move to the couch and take a seat, when the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice said, _he knew_. How much did he know?

"You remembered?" Her pulse quickened and her heart pumped fast, the hopeful tone of her voice giving away her position. He'd been having random flashbacks for weeks…had this been one of them? When he sat beside her, his eyes never leaving hers, she was sure she knew the answer.

"Did you keep your promise?" Jason was surprised how much her response mattered. It had been years, he couldn't remember their lives or their love…so why did this one thing matter so damn much?

Sam's breath caught in her throat as she watched him. He sounded shaky, like her answer was important. Like it hinged on a whole lot. Nodding slowly, unable to take her eyes from his, she was thrown by the instant relief and pleasure that washed his baby blues. It was the answer he sought.

"Never?" His whisper was rasped, tinged with hopeful desperation.

Shaking her head in confirmation, she whispered, " _Never_!"

They sat like that, eyes locked on each other, unable to move or stop the images that were replaying through both their minds, watching as the moment of years before, unfolded to their joined thoughts. It fit her like a glove and his eyes couldn't feed his heart with enough of her in it. The voluptuous, curvy delight of her body was drawn unto his lap so she could feel the effect she was having on him. He was starving for a taste of her.

 _"I love you…so much! And, I love this outfit…"_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _Nod…" and you're never, ever, going to wear it for anybody else."_

 _"Okay."_

When they found themselves back in the penthouse, virtual strangers that they really weren't but still were, Sam didn't know how to proceed. He'd had a memory of them, a personal, delicate memory of something special and unique between the two. She didn't know how he was processing that… _she used to know_.

Jason was once again left breathless with the feelings he'd had during that conversation. The raw love he'd felt, the immense gratitude for the encouraging, supportive, unbreakable woman that she was, secure in the deep love and anchor she used to engulf him, clad in the sexy pink and black number that set his groin on fire. The depths astounded as much as filled him with anger that he could've ever forgotten. How could your brain forget your heart feeling like that about somebody? How was it even possible?

She broke his trance when she stood to her feet, clearing her throat to release them both.

"Thank you for bringing this back. It's very special to me and I would've hated to have lost it."

Those memories were hers alone to treasure now. She turned away, holding the garment close to her chest, covering her heart, and when he rose to his feet he stepped up close behind her, aching, but not daring to touch.

"It apparently means a great deal to me too."

Her light chuckle sounded sweet, as she turned around to shake the pink at him in jest. "You have no idea, pal." When the familiar fire started to flame, she put distance between them to place it on the couch, and it pleased him that she too felt the pull that engulfed him wholly.

"Do you need help unpacking?" He wanted something to do with his hands…something that wouldn't get them slapped for where he wanted to let them roam.

"No, I think I can handle it. We really didn't take much with us when we left, and the stuff downstairs in the basement, we'll just incorporate as we go."

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"The basement. What you have stored." He was already at the door, holding it open.

Hesitantly, Sam moved to pass him. "Okay." He had stuff still there too…maybe he'd like it back.

They were waiting for the elevator to open when she changed her mind, realizing with a jolt that trolling through old memories with him…not the best idea. She was getting swept up into him again, falling for old memories of the old him she still missed every day. But he wasn't here.

"On second thought…" she unclipped the storage key from the bunch in her hands and handed it to an askance Jason. "…you should do this by yourself. Maybe seeing your things will jog some memories for you, without me there."

He hadn't told her it did at the cabin that day and that he was counting on them doing exactly that.

"Are you sure?" He took the key from her delicate hand, watching her look away but not quickly enough to hide the hurt in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

He turned to watch her walk away, missing her with every step that took her further from him. "Can I come back after?"

Sam opened the door and stopped to look back, feeling lonely for the friend she once shared every part of her with, without a moment's hesitation to bare her soul to his nonjudgemental scrutiny. He wasn't here anymore. Somebody else's man was in his stead.

"Not such a good idea, Jason." When hurt flashed his eyes, it triggered something angry inside of her, unleashing the annoyance with the careless game he was choosing to play. "How exactly will you spend Christmas with Danny when you're away on your trip?" Annoyance with him was a much less dangerous way to go.

"What?" The sound of the elevator opening behind him was barely an echo.

"I almost got my son's hopes up, just so you could dash them again? Why? Why would you make plans you didn't intend to keep?"

"Sam, I **_am_** going to spend Christmas with Danny - I have everything set. What makes you think I'm not?"

What the hell kind of game was he playing? "Are you denying that you're going away with Elizabeth?"

He didn't want to talk about Elizabeth…he never wanted to talk about anybody but them when they were together. But he would never lie to her.

"No, Elizabeth did plan a trip for us, that's true - but what does that have to do with Christmas?"

"So you're not leaving on Christmas day?" Patrick's nasty words echoed in her head and slapped her with stinging clarity all over again.

He realized with a drop to his stomach that he hadn't checked the dates on her reservation. He had no idea when she'd planned it for, but it couldn't be the one day they were all planning to spend with family, with the children. He hadn't even thought to check. _Idiot_!

"Honestly, Sam - I don't know for sure when she booked for. But it does't even matter - I'm not going anywhere before I see Danny open his presents, every last one of them…and we're going sledding after, just like we planned." That didn't make her happy. He'd succeeded in hitting as low as he'd hit high with her all in the same hour.

"You can keep that key - I have another one. Bye, Jason."

He watched the door close between them and once again, the gap had reopened wider than ever, washing him in confusion as it gaped. What was he doing? Why was he so constantly confused and torn? A man in his position, in love with somebody else, should not be riding this emotional roller coaster with his ex, constantly seeking her out and wanting to please her in everything he did. What the hell was he doing?

Deciding it best to leave his next stroll down memory lane for another time, Jason set out on his way home. Only, he really didn't feel much like going home - not just yet…and besides, hadn't Elizabeth and the boys gone to the movies? They wouldn't miss him for awhile…and at that moment, she wasn't the one he was missing either. Her smile wasn't the light he sought to brighten his freshly troubled heart.


	11. Chapter 11

Hours later, the cold was starting to bite through the leather jacket but home still wasn't calling him. He was already headed north and close to the tiny little spot he'd been patronizing more and more lately in search of comfort. They had that beer he liked and the food wasn't bad either, but what he really craved about the place was the anonymity its location on the outskirts of town afforded him. He'd never run into anyone he knew there, which worked out perfectly, seeing as his long rides were usually in pursuit of peace and quiet from the familiar.

He'd just stepped up to the bar and ordered a beer, waiting to grab it and go in search of the usual table in the far corner, when someone slapped his shoulder.

"Jason! I thought I might run into you here one of these days!" He was surprised to find Max standing next to him, his hand resting where it had landed on his shoulder.

"You remember this place?" Max' younger brother Milo sat on the stool to his far right.

"He's here, isn't he? Of course he remembers if he's here!"

The brothers quipped at each other as he looked from one to the other, then took the beer the bartender placed in front of him on the bar.

"It's good to see you, Max." He nodded in Milo's direction, then pointed towards the table where he turned to be alone. He took a chair, looking from one brother to the next, who'd followed him and were sitting down too. So much for no company.

"How's the family?"

"Good - everybody's doing good!"

He took a swig of cold lager and swallowed as he looked around the bar, making sure he didn't know anybody else there. He wasn't looking for a party.

"Danny's growing pretty fast, isn't he? He'll be as tall as Sam very soon."

He listened to their low laugh at Max' remark, not missing the fact that Sam and Danny were the _family_ they were asking about, prompting Jason to realize that ever since he found out who he was, Sam and Danny were always the ' _family_ ' people referred to when they engaged him in conversation. Funny how he never noticed that before. Funnier how much it stood out now.

"Sam really liked this place too." Milo slapped Max on the arm and added, "Remember the time she hustled you at pool right over there?" He smiled at Jason, "He whined like a baby for days afterwards, remember?"

When Milo suddenly winced and bent over slightly, Jason looked over to Max, who was eyeing him apologetically, who then shrugged, "Sorry. Shit for brains does't always use the little he's got." Then he turned to his brother to grind through his teeth, "Of course he doesn't remember, fool!"

Straightening up from where he'd leant to rub at his shin, Milo also gave Jason an apologetic look. "Oh…sorry, Jason. I forget sometimes. That you don't remember, I mean…" He winced again and reached for the same shin.

Jason looked to Max. "You can stop maiming the man - you don't have to tiptoe around me." He looked back at Milo. "I came here all the time?"

"Yeah. Everytime we made a Canada run you'd stop on the way back. Other times you'd just come out here to be by yourself."

"Canada?"

Max spoke as though choosing his words carefully. "Part of the job in the early days. That's how you found it the first time…you stopped once on your way back to town and just kind of adopted the place."

Nodding, Jason played with the label on the bottle absentmindedly. So, he was a runner for Sonny too. Just what hadn't he done for the man?

As if sensing his thoughts, Max chimed up, "You haven't done that stuff in years. Neither had we…Mr. C just had an emergency and it's the holidays and all…everybody's pretty busy, so…"

When Jason only nodded and took another drink, Max changed the subject. "So, how's everything going with you? You got everything on Danny's and Jake's lists?"

Before Jason could answer, Milo added, "Cause if you don't…we know a guy."

"Thanks, but the boys are all set. I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with them…can't tell you how great it feels."

"We have some idea."

When he looked quizzical, Max continued, "You've always loved kids. Michael, especially…you were great with him. He was closer to you than his own parents - that's how much you were always there for him - listening, encouraging, teaching him stuff, protecting his family. You always wanted kids of your own…and when Sam came along…boy, you couldn't wait! You two were something!"

"So what happened? Why did we?" He felt a little uncomfortable asking the bodyguard such a personal question but it just slipped out. He really wanted to know.

"The job, mostly. You had doubts about raising a kid in the business, and who could really blame you…you've seen firsthand what it did to Mikey and Morgan."

He was really curious now. "Oh, yeah…like what?"

"Run of the mill kidnapping, presumed death, constant guarding - never being free to just be kids."

"Getting shot in the head!" Milo grinned at Max when he missed him that time. "Aha! Didn't see me move over some, did ya?" The glare from his older brother killed his grin instantly, causing him to replay his words in his mind. He looked hurriedly at Jason. "Shit! Sorry, man - that didn't come out right."

Max turned back to Jason. "What my dumbass brother is trying to say is, life wasn't easy for Mikey, and you felt responsible for him so you always took that stuff pretty personally when you couldn't prevent it. You really wanted a kid with Sam, but you were scared of what would happen with the kind of people who target us on a daily basis. You and the boss lived by your own creed - no women and children - not everybody does though."

Jason nodded as he listened, trying to picture himself in the center of the Corinthos' but not understanding how he laid so much down for the head honcho. Leaning forward and surrounding the beer bottle with both hands, he faced Max squarely.

"Tell me something - what was with the blind loyalty to that guy? Why did I care so much about his business that I would leave my family at the drop of a hat to run to his beckon like that?" Thinking how he got shot always sat miserably with him, unable to understand how he could've left Sam and Danny that way.

Milo answered first, "Are you kidding? Mr. C commands that kind of loyalty - one look from him and you jump - do whatever he says!"

Max' look for his brother was the same one he'd been giving him all night. "Don't listen to him - you and Mr. C had a different kinda vibe. Yes, the boss gave the orders and for the most part, you did what he asked…but it was never anything you didn't agree with. You weren't exactly a _yes-man_ , if you know what I mean?"

"No?"

"Hell no! You disagreed with him plenty and you always let him know. You had more of a camaraderie - he respected your opinion - still does I think - and you never did anything you weren't comfortable with."

"So you're saying I wanted to leave my family, to put myself in that position to be taken from them like that?

"No, no - it's not as simple as all that." Max spread his hands as he explained, "See, Jason - you were like…everybody trusted you. You were always a stand up guy and you could handle the business better than anybody I know. Mr. C was the head honcho, no doubt…but you were his right hand and everybody knew to go to you…with anything! You never turned anybody down who needed help."

Smirking, Jason leant back in his chair and brought the beer with him. "Yeah…I'm sure I was a real standup guy!"

Max could tell he didn't really buy it about himself. If only the guy knew the real him!

"You ask anybody in Port Charles and they'll tell you who Jason Morgan really was…and not just the Corinthos', who worship the man they could all count on, every last one of them…but you ask anyone of the Spencers - you've saved them more than once! Robin Scorpio wasn't one of your best friends for no reason. Even people who should've hated you, showed you respect - just ask Johnny Z! You really don't give yourself enough credit man…but I know it's hard, if you don't get to the man you're judging."

Listening to the words that weren't falling on deaf ears, Jason took another drink and thought to himself how the man might have a point. Most of what he knew about himself was negative and leave worthy, but there had to be a reason why the people he'd met over the last couple years had bonded with him so closely…raved about him so ferociously. He couldn't have been Satan, if they were all so willing to love him and give him the benefit of the doubt even now. Maybe the vanilla, watered down version he was with Elizabeth wasn't all there was. Maybe he really was worth taking a closer look at.

He gestured between himself and Max as he looked the man in the eye. "Were we…close?"

Max smiled and shifted in his chair. "We worked together for a long time - you were always a friend and a fair boss, and there's nobody I'd rather go into a gunfight with." When Jason squirmed uncomfortably at the mention, Max cleared his throat, "But that's not all, man! The way you were with the Cs, every one of them…you were family! The way you were with your own family…you loved your wife and you were really looking forward to raising your son! I'm just sorry you didn't call me to have your back that night - I should've had your back!"

"Yeah - we both would've had your back, man…next time, call us first!" Milo yelped out loud this time and glared at his brother who had extended far enough to reach him again. "Will you STOP doing that?"

When Max lifted his right hand, Milo drew back from the mock backhand.

"What my halfwit brother means is, we're here - call us if you ever need anything."

When Jason pursed his lips that lifted in a slight smile, the brothers both rose from the table and Max added, "We better get back before Mr. C sends out a search party. See you around, Jason."

With a slight lift of his hand, Jason watched them leave, thinking there was a time when that was his world. It felt strange knowing that he was such a huge proponent of organized crime, that he was feared and apparently respected in those circles, and it gave him a strange type of longing, for the oddest moment. Did he miss it on some level? He thought about the quiet, unassuming existence he now lived with the small family that meant so much, and he knew he didn't want something else.

So what was that yearning in the pit of his stomach all the time? If he was so fulfilled and so content, why was his mind constantly troubled and his heart achy…and just what the hell was the ache for? Obviously he'd cheated on Sam with Elizabeth - given the information he just got that he was with Sam first and trying to have a child with her, yet Jake was older than Danny! He'd naturally assumed that he was with Elizabeth first, then he met and married Sam…but that apparently wasn't the case. So if he'd wanted Elizabeth enough to cheat on Sam with her, ended up where his heart truly laid after his loss of memory…then why was he in absolutely no hurry to get home to her? Why had he sent every single call from home to voicemail all night? Why hadn't he read a single text with her name on it…after the acute pang each time he saw it wasn't one from Sam? If he was living out his destiny…why the fuck did he feel so lost?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Elizabeth couldn't sleep a wink. He'd been gone for hours and hours and wouldn't take a single one of her calls. What was he doing? Who…realizing that she knew the answer before she even asked the question, she finally got fed up enough to yell out loud to the empty room. Tossing the pillow where she'd been wringing it anxiously between ashen hands, she stood up from the couch and grabbed her keys and coat. She wasn't going to sit idly while they made a fool of her - not again!

She pulled up to Harborview Towers and took a deep breath. She used to love the place…loved visiting Jason there and even once thought about living there with him…but now it was marred by the town slut. What were they doing up there together?

Pounding on the front door a few minutes later, she waited anxiously until the door swung open to reveal the man thief. "Where is he?" Pushing the door and shoving inside past Sam, she was ready for a fight.

Sam staggered back from the front door as the abrasive little twot pushed past into her home. When was this ridiculous day going to end?

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out of my house!" She wanted to grab her by the stringy, unkempt mess of brown sitting on top of her head and toss her bony ass to the street, but she'd had enough of fighting today. She just wanted her to go away.

"I'm not leaving without my fiancé! **_Jason_**!" She walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up them, " ** _Jason_**!"

Sam left the front door ajar and approached the crazy. "I don't know where you lost him, but your **_fiancé_** _,_ is not here! Now, get out!"

When she moved to take the steps instead, Sam sprung into action, still fighting to keep a lid on her now rising temper. Grabbing the bitch by the arm, she yanked her off the first stair.

"You're not storming into my home and searching it at will!" She spun her around and shoved her hard towards the front door. "I don't know what the hell kinda drama you and Jason are having but you leave me out of it and get the hell out! I already told you, he's not here!"

Fuming, Elizabeth's eyes dropped to the familiar garment on the arm of the couch. She stepped fast around Sam and grabbed it, shoving it towards her angrily.

"Oh, no? Then where did you get this?"

She'd barely asked the question before the corset was yanked from her hand.

"Don't touch my shit! I'm not going to ask you again to leave!"

"I knew it! I knew you couldn't just leave us alone. You think because he bought you some filthy, tasteless piece of lace, that means he wants you? You're just the whore he knows will let him stick her even though you know he doesn't want you!"

Sam was fast losing the battle for control. She advanced as the anger reared within her. "Me? I'm not the desperate bitch who can't stop chasing him. I'm not the needy hoe who's been pining after him for years, waiting, baiting, lying, scheming to bed him no matter how many times he walks away from you. Why are you so scared right now, huh? Feel him slipping away again? Just how many times was it that you laid yourself at his feet, only for him to take a hard pass and swipe you to the left?"

When her hand shot out towards Sam's face, Sam was nearing the last straw. She grabbed it and twisted hard as she brought it down, eliciting a loud cry of pain from the woman. Shoving her backwards, Sam stuck a forefinger in her direction.

"Try that again and you leave here in a bodybag!"

Elizabeth rubbed her arm gingerly as angry tears stung at her eyes. "Why the hell can't you just leave us alone? He chose to live a life with me and my boys - why can't you just respect that and move on? How pathetic are you?"

Sam laughed but no sound came. " ** _You're_** calling someone pathetic? Where are your kids right now? You're in **_my_** home, looking for the man who you know chose you by **_default_** , crawling out of your skin because you know with everything in you that you'll never be able to keep him - you've **_never_** been able to keep him…and **_you're_** going to stand in **_my_** living room and call **_me_** names?"

Elizabeth stuck her chin up when the words slapped her squarely. "You're living in the past. Jason's changed, he wants me now - he told you that! You and your slutty underwear aren't enough for him anymore - he has a real family now, and I will never let you have him again! Do you hear me? Over my dead body will I ever lose him to you again."

"Oh, poor lil Elizabeth…sucks, finding out people can use their own minds, huh? Here you are, trying **_everything_** you know how, to desperately hold onto something that doesn't belong to you…and damn if that man isn't just slipping away!" Her tone was deriding as she sneered at the pitiable creature, not feeling an ounce of sympathy for the self-inflicted agony poring out of her. "When have you ever been woman enough for Jason Morgan?"

Elizabeth stuck her left hand towards Sam. "When he got me this! When he divorced your skanky ass and put a ring on it!"

Sam's laugh sounded loudly this time. "Hah! That shiny barb that's squeezing the hell out of your finger right now? That's just jewelry sweetheart…where is the man?"

Elizabeth couldn't hide the sting from the bristling words, but she wasn't done. "With **_me_**! Marrying **_me_** in a few days! So you can stop with your little parlor tricks, trying to lure him back - he doesn't want you! Why don't you just pack up your shit and slither out of town the way you came - just leave us the hell alone?"

"And miss all this? I have a front row seat to you unravelling by your own hands - who would want to miss that? Here's a tip for you, Lizzy…" Sam moved closer and mimicked a confidential whisper, "Keep him happy at home, **_that's_** how you'll get him to actually **_want_** to be there." She leant back quickly, "I mean, now that you've gotten him to propose and all. You finally have the time you've been scheming to get with him - you wouldn't want to waste it now, would you?"

Elizabeth was still fuming but she had no recourse. Jason was obviously not there - he'd been and gone. She probably just missed him when she arrived. He was probably home waiting for her. Glaring one last time at Sam, she moved towards the front door, holding her head high. She paused with her hand on the knob when the woman called her name, turning slowly to meet dark, evil eyes on a hard, cold face.

"Next time you misplace my ex-husband, don't come to my home…you will leave with pieces of you missing." Sam's voice was low as she locked eyes with the most pathetic creature she'd ever known. No clue what men saw in her and she didn't care anymore. She just wanted her gone. And she could take and keep Jason with her too. It was thanks to him that she'd ever had to deal with the trifling nurse in the first place and if fate had worked the way it had originally promised her, she'd be stuck dealing with her for the rest of their lives. Guess there was **_one_** silver lining to losing _her_ Jason afterall.


	12. Chapter 12

Easing the door closed as quietly as he could, Jason moved just as quietly to the couch and spread out tiredly, finally feeling the effects of the long ride and equally long day. He kicked his boots off and got comfortable but just as his eyes eased closed, he sensed that he wasn't alone. With his eyes still closed, his nose picked up the scent of the woman of the house.

Placing a hand across his forehead and squeezing his eyes even tighter, he asked dryly, "Why aren't you in bed?"

Elizabeth fumed quietly from the armchair in the corner where she hadn't taken her eyes off him since he snuck in. He didn't even have the decency to go up the stairs to check to see if she was home, if she was safely in bed.

"Why do you think? You care to tell me what this is all about, Jason? What exactly happened tonight?"

Sighing resignedly, Jason shifted on the couch, still with his eyes closed, wishing she was a mirage. He just wanted to sleep.

"Can we talk about this in the morning? I'm tired, Elizabeth."

That got her really angry, jousting her from the couch to reach him in two strides, yanking the arm that was covering his face from her. "It's morning now, dammit! You've been gone all night…after leaving here with Sam's filthy lingerie. Where the hell were you, Jason?"

He knew he wouldn't get a wink of sleep now. Sighing again in frustration, he moved to a sitting position, finally looking at her…really looking at her. Her face was stony hard as she glared at him, her eyes almost crazy in the dimness of the room. In that moment, he couldn't find a single thing he normally found so beautiful about her.

"I returned something to Sam, then I went for a ride."

Elizabeth's fury was mounting. His matter of fact attitude towards her state of ire was not helping. How dare he act so cavalier after the miserable night she'd had.

"That's it?" Her voice was incredulous and angry. "You've been gone all night, you're running around giving women underwear, and that's all you have to say to me?"

He was still looking at her, his dazed, sleepy mind comparing her current look of consternation to that of a shrew. He didn't know why he found that a little bit funny.

"It's the truth…what else do you want me to say?"

She sank sadly beside him on the couch, getting weepy when that was all she found she had left.

"I want you to make me understand! What is your sudden fascination with Sam, and why are you buying her lingerie? Jason, how could you?"

He was exasperated again. Struggling to control the shortness he was feeling, he thought it better to explain.

"Are you listening to yourself? Why would I buy Sam lingerie? First of all, she's not like that…Sam would never accept something that personal from a man in my position. Second of all, I'm not like that either…I thought you knew that?"

"I thought I did too, but Jason, I saw it at her apartment. You took it there!"

He sat straight and looked at her sternly. "What were you doing at Sam's?"

"Don't change the subject! You still haven't told me…" That's when she realized something she'd missed before. The corset had no tags on it! It wasn't a new purchase! For one split second, relief washed all through her…he didn't buy it for her! Then hope got dashed in the very next. The corset had no tags…it wasn't new… _it meant something to them_ \- that's why he was so angry when he found her with it. That's why the slut reacted so strongly when she'd picked it up off the couch. Had Jason remembered being with her in it? She realized he was saying something.

"This is pointless, Elizabeth. I had something of Sam's - it got caught up in some things of mine I collected from her place, I returned it - end of story."

"Why didn't you come home after? Where've you been all night?" She knew her troubles were far from over.

"Riding…I needed to clear my head."

"Why, Jason? We've been so happy - what is suddenly weighing on you so heavily that you disappear all night? You wouldn't even take my calls or answer my texts! What am I supposed to do with that?" She sobbed out the last sentence, throwing her full force behind the tears that she worked to pull the usual guilt from him. She knew it was working when he sighed and his voice softened.

"Please don't cry, Elizabeth. Everything is fine - I just needed some air, that's all."

She threw her shoulders into the cry, burying her face inside her hands as she let them fly freely. When his arms circled her, she went willingly into their depth. "You said you love me, Jason. Did you change your mind? Are you leaving me and the boys now when we need you?"

Jason ground his teeth as he drew her close. He hated to see her cry, hated even more, being the reason that she did. "Of course I'm not leaving. You're making a big deal out of nothing. I'm right here."

She sniffled and buried her face inside his neck, hugging him closely as he held her. If that bitch thought she'd ever allow her to weasel in between them, she'd be sadly mistaken.

She eased slightly from his arms, staying within their confines still, smiling through the tears. "I know how you can make it up to me." When he wiped a tear from her cheek, she continued, "You can make our trip into our wedding." When his eyes opened a bit, she hurried out, "Let's elope, Jason. Let's get married at the cabin tomorrow night - as soon as we arrive. Then our week together will really be our honeymoon!" She grinned and batted her big brown eyes at him, knowing he was always putty in her hands when she did. "What do you say?"

Jason eased back into the cushions, essentially pulling away from her and dropping her hands slowly. "What do you mean, tomorrow night? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

Her smile grew wider. "I know! Think about it…a Christmas wedding…isn't that the most romantic thing you ever heard? You didn't forget our trip did you?"

His eyes squished as his brain attempted to wrap her words. "No…but why would we leave on Christmas Eve?"

She chuckled and grabbed both of his hands to squeeze between hers. "That's when I booked the trip for, silly. Remember the reservations I showed you last week? We leave tomorrow night for a glorious week alone…just you and me…a cabin upstate in the snow…it's going to be so romantic. Then if we turn it into our wedding, all the more…"

She trailed off when he pulled his hands from her and stood to his feet, backing up from the couch as he continued to study her.

"You planned a trip for Christmas Eve? We've talked about spending Christmas with the kids…all of them. Why would you choose that date?"

She stood to even out the height disparity some. "I know we did, but when I checked the bookings, those were the only dates they had available. I had to jump on it - I didn't think you'd mind!"

"No? What about the boys? You don't think they'll mind spending Christmas alone, while we're off on some romantic getaway?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Jason. They won't be alone - they'll be with Grams! Surrounded by all those presents you got them…plus Laura and Lulu will have them for a couple days after Christmas…they won't even notice we're gone!"

He was trying not to get angry, certain that she wasn't purposely being insensitive. "What about Danny?"

She looked genuinely puzzled. "What about him?" Her voice was a tad cold for his comfort too.

Jason took a step back and eyed her quizzically. "He's expecting to spend Christmas with me. I told you this…this will be the first Christmas with my son since I found out I'm his father. I'm not about to disappoint him and I'm really looking forward to it."

Her tone got placating. "Danny will be fine…he's a child…all he cares about is getting presents for Christmas. I promise he won't even miss you when we're gone."

Was he hearing her right? Who was this woman and what had she done with his angel? " ** _I'll_** mind, Elizabeth. I want to spend Christmas with my son - with both of my sons! I'm not disappointing them."

This time, when her lips quivered like a little girl's and her Bambi eyes filled with unshed tears, it sparked anger inside him. "Don't do that! Don't try to manipulate me into leaving my children on Christmas - it won't work, and as a matter of fact, it's starting to piss me off."

She wasn't used to this. Jason didn't get mad at her - he got mad at _other_ people on her behalf! He _never_ turned her down… _never_! ' _No_ ' was not a word Jason Morgan used to her, ever! Feeling her hold dangerously slipping, she realized she needed a new strategy. Standing there quietly, she wiped the silent tears and watched as he turned from her and headed towards the kitchen.

"I need a drink of water and then I'm coming back to sleep. We can finish this tomorrow…right here in Port Charles."

Feeling like she may have overplayed a dangerous, delicate hand, Elizabeth stared blankly at the swinging door that parted her from his receding back, then took herself slowly up to bed alone. She would let it rest for now…but they were getting married in a matter of days…even if she had to work every minute to convince him to make it happen.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Christmas Eve at the Davis' house was bustling and festive. Julian had gotten the largest tree on the lot, much to the delight of an excited Daniel Edward Morgan, who got the pleasure of placing the star at the very top - with the help of his grandfather and a step ladder. He got a real kick out of turning the switch on the little ornaments that played Christmas Carols and the sound of chirping birds.

Sam watched her baby beaming as he earnestly shook every present beneath the tree with his name on it.

"Hey you…what are you doing?"

She noticed he'd been separating them into piles. Sparing the quickest glance her way before he looked back to the huge blue square he'd shake next, he laid it down and pointed to the farther pile he'd made. "Those are clothes. I'll leave those for last."

"What?" Alexis feigned surprise as she joined them and ruffled her grandson's hair where he knelt to reach for the gold paper wrapped rectangle one. "Santa would bring my grandbaby clothes for Christmas? I don't know…maybe you're losing your touch kiddo."

Danny laughed at her joke. "Grandma, they're mostly from you. You always buy me clothes."

Sam laughed out loud at the funny look of shock when Alexis' mouth fell open. "Wha…? I do not!" She ruffled his hair some more. "Watch you eat those words when you see what I really got you this year!"

That got his attention. "What did you get me? Can I open it now?"

Sam chimed in, "No, you can't open it…it's not Christmas yet."

"But we always open one gift on Christmas Eve, Mommy - pleaaaase? Can I please open Grandma's this year?"

"Hey…how about mine?" Molly placed a large bowl with salad on the table and walked over to the tree. "How about you open one of mine this year, Danny?"

Alexis and Sam exchanged knowing looks, laughing when Danny said what they knew he was about to. "No thanks, Aunt Molly. You always get me books." He pointed to the pile he'd been setting aside. "They're over there - next to the clothes from Grandma."

Laughing quietly, Alexis moved to answer the knock at the door. Smart little tyke - just like his mother!

"Nikolaus!" She greeted her nephew warmly with a kiss on the cheek and drew him into a tight hug. "Welcome home - I'm so happy you decided to stop by tonight."

"Alexis. Good evening everyone." Nikolaus handed Alexis the bottle of something rare before removing his coat and handing it to Molly, who was holding her hand out to take it. He walked up to his cousin and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Hi, Sam."

Sam smiled at her cousin warmly. "Nikolaus. I heard you were back - glad you could come tonight. Where's Spencer?"

"With his grandmother and Aunt…he sends his greetings of the season. I'll be joining them shortly but I had to come see you all first. How've you been, Sam?"

Sam walked ahead of Nik to the couch and sat, turning her body towards him when he took the seat next to her and patted her hand where it laid on the cushion at her side.

"Honestly, I've been better…but I've also been worse, so I'm really not complaining." She smiled reassuringly. "But that's enough about me - how was Greece?"

Nikolaus shrugged nonchalantly. "The same it always is…beautiful country, lousy compound." He patted her hand again. "But I'm serious…tell me how you really are. One minute I'm getting ready to walk you down the aisle, the next you called everything off. Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine Nikolaus. Everything that happened was for the best."

"How can that be, when you're alone again, Sam? Are you sure it's really over…there's no saving your relationship with Patrick? You two were so perfect together - Danny finally had the right father in his life and you finally had a partner who would put you first."

Shaking her head, Sam really wanted a change of subject, not wanting dark thoughts to mar what had been a very pleasant evening thus far.

"Really, Nik, it's over and forgotten. What about you? Who's the lucky lady making you smile these days?"

His signature dimple showed up when a smile turned his lips. "I'm like you right now, I'm afraid…taking a pouter on love. Haven't been quite so lucky in that department…not since my beloved Emily."

It was Sam's turn to pat his hand softly. "I know the feeling…knowing there's only one person in the whole entire world who will ever truly get you…understand you, love you in a way no-one else ever could…it's a pretty special feeling when you have it and really lousy when it's gone."

Nikolaus looked at Sam in dismay. "Sam! No!"

"No, what?" Sam was genuinely surprised.

"You're not still carrying a torch for Jason, are you, Sam?" When she glared at him he cocked his head at her. "So, Elizabeth was right? There's still something between you two?"

"The only thing between Jason and me is that little gem over there." She pointed to where Danny was just wrapping up his investigations, having decided on which gift he wanted to open first. "Save it for after dinner, Bud!" Sam rose from the couch and went over to her son, bending over to give him a warm hug when he stood up.

"Okay, Mommy."

He was such a good little boy. She kissed his nose and hugged him again, rocking him within the confines of her arms, even as she wondered what the older image of him was up to at that moment. You know what he's up to, Sam…he's with his family…and you are with yours!

"Speaking of which…" Kristina descended the stairs and smiled hello to Nikolaus before turning to her mother, "…dinner here yet - I'm starving!"

"Here yet…Alexis, you didn't cook?" Nikolaus pulled his aunt's leg and her daughters broke out into laughter around her.

Pointing a forefinger at him in warning, Alexis walked again to the door to answer a knock. "Everybody's a comedian - ha ha ha!" She swung it open and started when Carly Corinthos breezed through the doorway, smiling widely at the room, her open coat swinging as she strode in. "Carly!"

"Merry Christmas, everybody." Carly smiled hello then turned back to Alexis. "Don't look so shocked. I was on my way out when I saw that the kitchen had a delivery for your place…"

"…And let me guess, you just thought you'd deliver it personally, Carly?" Sam drew near the woman and eyed the blonde suspiciously. "What are you up to now?"

Carly actually managed to look offended when she answered, a little too quickly, "Nothing! I can't just want to spread some holiday cheer? Why is everybody so suspicious of everything I do?"

"Because there's usually a highly questionable disaster in the making, that's why!" Alexis led the servers into the kitchen to show them where to place the myriad of food containers.

Carly flicked Sam's hair playfully. "Shows how much you know…I'm on my way home to Sonny and the kids right now, but I had to make sure that one special little boy remembered that he had to come to my house tomorrow for something equally special." When Danny beamed from where he was standing in front of his mother, Carly laughed and hugged him tightly, "Think you can manage that, mister man?"

"Mhmmm!" Danny nodded excitedly, obviously happy at the thought of more presents to unwrap.

"Okay, good!" She turned back to his mother. "Sam, you should come too! We haven't caught up in awhile…we can raid Sonny's good scotch and get some girl talk in."

Still suspicious and knowing with each passing second that she needed to be, Sam merely nodded and agreed. Sometimes going along with Carly was the less painful option. "Sounds great - wouldn't miss it."

"Awesome…I'll see you then." Carly kissed Danny and wave goodbye as she left. "Night y'all - enjoy your dinner!"

Kristina waved goodbye. "Tell Dad I'll see him tomorrow." When she left, Sam and Kristina exchanged looks. "What was that?"

Sam shook her head and turned back towards the center of the room. "Sometimes with Carly, you just don't wanna know."

Kristina wrapped her arm around Sam's shoulder and gripped. "You know what I think you **_should_** know, though, Sis? How to get back on that horse!"

Sam side eyed her. " _What_?"

Kristina squeezed her again. "It's time to put the gorgeous smile back on your face. I'm going out with some friends tonight - you should come. Maybe you'll meet someone new - get your mind off of the old for a little bit…what do you say?"

"That you're crazy. I'm fine, Kristina - I don't want to date anyone right now."

Kristina sat with her when she sank onto the couch. "Who said anything about dating? I'm talking about letting your hair down for one night - being carefree and buck wild - let go of the tightrope, just for tonight."

"Buck wild? Tightrope? What the hell are you talking about?"

"She's telling you to have a one-night stand!" Molly sat next to them and handed Sam a glass with eggnog. "Really, Kristina - is sex all you ever think about? Sam has known real, passionate, lasting love…she's alot deeper than casual, meaningless encounters with disease ridden strangers - so stop."

"Yew! Why'd you have to put it like that? Way to stamp a damper on a perfectly good stress reliever, you prude!"

Sam looked around anxiously for Nikolaus to save her but he'd disappeared into the kitchen with Alexis and Danny. She was on her own, stuck in the middle of the conversation from hell. She put up both hands to quieten the bickering siblings.

"I'm not going to sleep with anybody and I'm not in love with anybody…but thanks though…warms my heart you're both thinking of me." She went over to the liquor cabinet, suddenly parched for a shot of tequila, immediately discarding the eggnog that barely had any rum in it. That would just simply not do!

She heard the chime from her phone and looked over to where she'd left it on the sofa table as Kristina reached for it, smiling when she read the name on the screen.

"Speaking of whom you love…Sam…you have a text!" She opened the message as Sam just shook her head at the invasion of privacy and continued to pour.

"Who is it Krissy?"

When no immediate answer followed, she looked over again to see a knowing smile. "Would you like me to read it?"

Gesturing, whatever, Sam threw back a shot of tequila and bit down on a slice of lime.

 _"Hey! How early can I come by in the morning? I don't want to wake you, but Santa would like to see firsthand results of his elves' hard work."_

Molly gasped audibly and looked from Kristina to Sam with a pleasant smirk on her face. "What? Is that from Jason?"

Kristina twirled the phone as she quipped, never taking her eyes off Sam, who approached her with palm out for her phone. "The one and only!"

"Give me that - you damn troublemaker!" As she swiped the phone from her sister, she cleared up the message. "He's coming to see Danny open his presents, that's all. It's something they want to do together and I'm not going to stop them."

"Oh, how sweet! Danny and dad's first Christmas together - oh, Sam you have to record it! I so wanna see that!"

"And _I_ wanna see Mommy and Daddy's. Yes, Sis…please do run that recorder!" Kristina laughed and ducked when Sam threw a pillow at her head.

She tried to ignore her sisters when Alexis and the others returned from the kitchen, announcing dinner was ready, but her heart skipped an unmistakable beat when she replied to the text nonchalantly. It thumped again, at the heady realization that he hadn't left town afterall…that he really was keeping his promise to make their son a priority at Christmas. Suddenly, she too was looking forward to Christmas morn.


	13. Chapter 13

Sam couldn't sleep. She was in a familiar bed, surrounded by her things in her home, yet her mind could not find rest. Turning on her side, she opened tired eyes that fell to the pillow next to hers, its instantly noticeable lack of indentation sending a longing through her blistered heart. Reaching a tentative hand out, she stroked the soft surface that once housed the blonde crop she'd caressed just like that so many, many times. So many incomparable moments, hours, years, had been spent in that bed, in their own world together.

Closing her eyes again, her heart lulled at the conjured image of his slumbering, peaceful face at rest there, his even breaths softly brushing the underside of her hand as she traced its strong, handsome outline…its gentle, one of a kind features.

When the burning longing stretched through her loins to clutch at her heart, Sam pulled her arm back and gripped the sheet tightly, lifting her knees to meet a curving torso, even as the fetal position did very little to ease the familiar, fiery pain that tore all through her. It strummed the same empty echo, each and every time she allowed herself to feel the wrenching loss of their monumental, once in a lifetime love. As the lonely tears seeped through tightly clamped lids to disappear into the pillow below her head, Sam forced herself to breathe, slowly releasing the image that kept her locked to the love of her life…releasing the face of the man she would love intensely till her dying day.

She'd put him in that corner of her heart, locked him away in those recesses unreached by any other…and she'd been able to keep him there, away from everyone, able to move on and take one step, one day at a time, without him in this world. She'd managed to take one painful breath after another, for the sake of the other love of her life…and it had worked. She'd managed to put one foot in front of the other and take each day one at a time to make their lives work…until now. Until the rug was pulled out from beneath her once again, each day since then feeling like something unreal and dreamlike…the unmatched, irreplaceable joy of having him alive and in their world again, sinking to the unbelievable low of having him not remember them. He couldn't remember their love…couldn't remember the living, breathing, remarkable product of that love…and he probably never would.

Turning onto her back, Sam stretched her body as she forced the pain out of her heart, reaching both hands to wipe the unwanted tears away. After taking a series of deep breaths to steady and calm herself, she finally sat up and swung a leg over the side of the bed, reaching to toss the sheet back. She couldn't sleep - no use in pretending - not like there was anybody there for her to put a front up for.

Standing up, Sam grabbed the warm robe that was her favorite, even as it swept at her feet as she made her way out of the bedroom. She quickly checked on Danny, who was deeply ensconced in dreamland, then made her way to the first floor, where she got a bottle of water and sat at the dining table in front of her idling laptop, deciding to put her sleepless state to good use.

"Usually, you're only up this time of the morning sweating or staking…might as well put some work in to make it count." She mumbled out loud as she perused the files, all closed, showing nothing in the pipeline for the immediate future. "This won't do, Sam…gotta do _something_!"

Taking a drink of water, she set her mind to work. The new year was just around the corner and she needed to make sure McCall and Jackal PI got back into the swing of things. She'd let everything fall behind long enough…first she'd been left reeling from the loss of her love, then she'd been busy being a new mother, putting the pieces of their lives back together, then it was somebody new she'd needed to please by burying a huge part of herself…the result of which had culminated in leaving her dreams for her business in the dust. This firm was a part of her, it was something she'd been good at, something she'd always wanted…it was time to give it some love again. First things first - she needed to drum up new business.

Before she knew it she'd spent hours on her project, smiling proudly when she hit the send button on the email that would deliver the new marketing piece to every member of her contact list. Letting her former clients know that MAJPI was still very much in business was the first step. Next, she got busy creating some new specials for an ad - buying the center page in the next issue of Crimson wouldn't normally be cheap but there would surely be a family discount in her corner. Smiling when she pictured a huge photo of herself, maybe standing in the middle of her office, arms folded across her chest with a face that said she meant business, dressed in something chic and bikergirl practical - Maxie would insist on dressing her - yep, she had all she needed to make MAJPI the talk of the town!

"Mommy?"

The sound of her baby's voice heading her way brought Sam to look up and notice the first signs of dawn breaking through the blinds.

"Mommy, where are you?"

"Down here, baby!"

Sam closed the laptop and met Danny at the foot of the stairs, reaching her arms out to lift him when he ran the rest of the way down to jump at her joyfully.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy!"

Smiling, Sam kissed his hairline softly, "Merry Christmas little man. Too excited to sleep anymore, huh?"

"It's time for presents!" He was already squirming out of her arms, grabbing hold of one hand as he pulled her forcibly towards the tree.

"Okay, okay…you go - I'll be right there." Turning back to the table, Sam activated the camera on the laptop and adjusted it to center on Danny, already beneath the tree, shoving all the smaller presents aside to get to the biggest one first. The joy of seeing him so excited was always the best part of the day for her, and she knew she'd gone a little overboard with the large pile beneath the tree this year, but she'd felt the need to make sure her son didn't feel like he was missing out on anything by it just being the two of them. She knew it was dangerous to spoil a child rotten but he was such a good little boy - she knew she would always spoil him.

"Hey, wait for me!"

They ripped through paper together, stopping every now and then to try and pin a bow on each other's forehead or arm, laughing hysterically when one incident resulted into a tickle fest that left Danny in tears he was laughing so hard. Finally easing up, Sam decided to stop before she sent him into convulsions. That's when the knock sounded on the door and before she could move, Danny was up and racing towards it yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Knowing it would be him, Sam stayed in place where she was sitting on her heels by the tree, watching as Danny threw the door open and flew into the arms of his father, who had to drop the shopping bags to hug him back.

"Hey, Buddy! Merry Christmas!"

Jason kissed the top of his son's head, loving the way it always made him feel to hold Danny in his arms, knowing he'd never get tired of the profound effect it had on his heart. He still couldn't believe he'd been missing out on this for so long, and he never wanted to miss another day with his boy.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy. Come see what Mommy got me - it's so cool!"

"Oh, yeah?" Grabbing the bags from where they'd fallen, Jason closed the door and followed as instructed, then stopped to stare at the huge pile of toys amid a mountain of wrapping paper. "Which one? It looks like you've got the entire toy store over here." His eyes fell on the lovely dark-haired creature settling into a seat on her legs, and the smile on his face widened.

"Merry Christmas." He didn't know why his voice suddenly got so soft, but it suited the way he felt looking at her, comfortably clad in grey yoga pants that peeked out from a dark robe obviously three times her size. Must be Patrick's he thought, not liking it one bit.

"Merry Christmas." Sam didn't know why her heart beat so fast whenever he was near. Well, she knew…but she didn't know why it still did, even now. Reminding herself that he was there for Danny, she got up and pointed at the bags he held. "Talk about buying out the stores…"

With a shrug, Jason smiled again at the mirth in her warm brown eyes that mocked his own, then forcibly broke the trance that was threatening to bind him. He couldn't risk getting kicked out by making her uncomfortable before he'd had a chance to be with them. Moving around Sam, he laid the bags next to Danny and shrugged out of his leather jacket while his excited son started tearing through them.

"Wow!"

"Wow is right…Jason, that's way too much!" Sam moved near, while making sure she didn't stand too close to him. The impish look he gave her kept her smile in place.

"I know you're not talking!" Gesturing towards the piles on the floor, he smiled too when she did again.

"Okay, fine! We're awful parents to overindulge like this…does that really say, _Harley Davidson_?"

When she pulled the strings of the robe to singe tighter at her tiny waist, Jason had a sudden flashback. She'd worn the ratty thing before…and it wasn't Patrick's. As he ogled her face showing tiny puffs beneath eyes that told of a sleepless night, he couldn't help marvel how beautiful she looked, doubly so wearing his robe! Slowly, he was remembering that she wore it all the time…had taken it over practically from the minute she first moved in…just like she did his t-shirts…and he'd always thought they looked so much better on her.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist! It was the first thing I saw when I walked into that store and all I could see was Danny riding it." Jason pointed to the four wheel go-cart next to the couch that his son couldn't wait to show him. "But you _really_ shouldn't talk!"

The beautiful sound of her laugh trailed as she headed for the kitchen. "Coffee?"

He followed behind Danny, who was already steering the Harley Davidson trike behind his mom.

"Yes, thanks. Hey, it reinforces balance and muscle coordination." When she swung back to give him a questionable look, he smiled again. "That's what the sales guy told me, so see - I'm really doing something healthy for our son."

They had coffee together, seated in the living room while Danny opened all his presents, then took turns switching between the trike and the go-cart, his happiness being everything to them both, as it echoed throughout the room. Eyeing her coconspirator cautiously where he sat in the armchair across from her, Sam broached a question that had been tickling her mind.

"How are you able to be here right now? Didn't you have to open presents with your family?"

Something about the way she said that sounded so wrong to him. Why? "The boys spent the night with their great grandmother." When she raised an eyebrow he continued, "You were right - she had plans for us to leave last night."

Sam shifted to pull a leg beneath her on the couch but said nothing. Though a little bit curious, it was the mildest little bit. She didn't particularly care to discuss Elizabeth Webber in her home on Christmas morning. Not anytime really, but definitely not this morning.

"Anyway, they all thought that's where they were going to be for Christmas so Audrey had made plans for them. They'll be home soon to open their gifts."

"Then you'd better get going."

"Soon." He looked at Danny again, who'd abandoned the motorized toys and was now exploring his new tablet. Jason didn't want to leave. Deep inside him he felt like he was supposed to here with them…this is how it was supposed to be. There was a contentment he hadn't felt in awhile, a belonging that surrounded him everytime he was with them, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore. He _was_ with his family. But he wanted to share the same thing with Jake too.

Sam rose from the couch and turned towards the stairs. "Suit yourself." She brushed Danny's hair as she passed him, "I'm going to change kiddo - you can take that foam pogo stick with you over to grandma Monica's and try it out there."

"Yay! Christmas cookies! Can Daddy come too?"

Sam continued up the stairs and left Mr. Morgan to answer that for himself. Maybe he'd have better luck explaining to their baby why he lived with Jake and not him…she'd tried several times but it was hard for him to understand, especially after she'd spent so many years showing him photos of his dad, telling him how much his dad loved them and would come home to them if he could. It had been really hard explaining to a four year old that his dad didn't live with them because he got hurt and didn't remember them. Let him take a shot at it this time - she was tired of explaining Jason Morgan's choices.

Jason watched her climb the stairs and it was the most familiar feeling - Sam, climbing the stairs in their home, him watching appreciatively - and the longing to follow her, deafening. He ran his hand through his hair and roughly down his face. More and more lately, his thoughts were consumed with Sam. He could be doing anything - taking a walk, doing a chore, playing with the boys - something would trigger thoughts of her that would take over everything and he'd find himself wanting to see her, to be in her presence. He'd find himself wanting to have conversations with her - he really liked that he could talk to her about anything! He was so intrigued by her.

"Will you come, Daddy?" Danny had moved to scoot next to him and Jason lifted an arm to draw him closer, patting his outer thigh when Danny rested his head against his side.

"I wish I could, Buddy, but I have to get home. Your brother and Cam and Aiden will be waiting for me to open _their_ presents."

There was a short silence where Jason felt like crap disappointing his babyboy but having no choice or he would disappoint his other boys. His son's next words tugged at his heart.

"Daddy, is your brain still hurt?"

"Yes, Bud. I still can't remember a lot."

"But you remember some?"

"Yes, I've been having a few memories of some things."

"Like what? Me?"

Jason hugged his son even closer and rested his cheek on his head. "I wish I remembered you, Buddy. More than anything I want to remember _everything_ about you and Jake."

"Can't Grandma Monica help? She's a doctor - she makes people better."

Jason smiled at his little four year old brain at work trying to help him. "Grandma fixes people's hearts. She won't be able to help with my brain."

"Don't they have anybody who can help with your brain, Daddy? Maybe Mommy can find someone - she finds people all the time for her job."

Again he smiled at ideas popping from his smart little boy. "You're probably right - I should probably find a doctor who can help with my brain."

"Then you'll remember and you'll come live with us?"

Jason was caught off guard. He had no idea that Danny had questions about their living arrangements…he just always assumed everyone had accepted the set up that had been in place when everything came out. Sam never said he'd been troubled by his absence from their home.

"I can't live with you, Bud…I have a different house, remember?"

"And Jake will be sad if you leave? Okay, Daddy - you can live with Jake. We can still do stuff together."

"That's right…you and me, we're going to be spending lots and lots of time together…anytime you want, okay?"

"Okay, you…your turn - let's get you dressed." Sam had returned to catch the tail end of their conversation. Reaching an hand out to Danny she waited for him to get off the couch and take it, then she steered him back towards his father. "Give Daddy a hug goodbye, he has to go see Jake."

Danny rushed into his father's arms and Jason held him close, hating that he really had to leave, almost as much as he hated Sam wanting him to. In that moment, he knew that if she asked, he would willingly stay. But he knew she wouldn't. When Danny let go and went back to take his mother's hand, Jason watched them leave with the saddest pang in his heart. They were his family too and the ones he wanted to be with today.

"You can let yourself out. Thanks for coming over." And she was gone.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After the boys had opened their presents, they went out back to take advantage of the freshly falling snow. Jason stayed behind, cleaning up the wrappers and boxes, his mind as absently elsewhere as it had been the entire time.

He was unaware of Elizabeth seated at the top of the stairs, watching him with an underlying, seething anger. He'd used the excuse of the boys spending the night at Gram's to leave early that morning and was gone for hours. Who did he think he was fooling? It shouldn't have taken him more than a few minutes to drop off a gift for that convenient little pawn that was being used to lure him away from his real family! She should've never told him the truth about switching the maternity tests…if she hadn't he'd have never gone back to the harlot in the first place and their lives would be completely different now. As if sensing that he was being watched, Jason turned to look her way, moving past almost immediately after meeting her eyes. Things had been tense between them the last few days and deteriorating even more. She needed to stop the slide. Moving down the stairs, Elizabeth joined Jason in the kitchen where he'd taken the refuse.

"We need to talk, Jason. This has gone on long enough."

He stuffed the trash bag and tied it, before opening the back door to discard it the recycling bin. She waited impatiently for him to close the door and walk back into the kitchen, where she laid a tender hand on his arm.

"You can't continue to shut me out like this. Please talk to me."

Jason stopped and looked at her delicate features…so deceivingly innocent. Was she really as sweet as he'd always thought her to be? She really hadn't done anything terrible…a tad selfish and thoughtless, yes…very unlike the woman he'd come to know and love, but everyone made mistakes. Everybody had weak moments every now and again…was he judging hers too harshly? With a sigh, Jason leaned his back against the sink and braced his hands next to him.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Her eyes shone instantly with relief, sensing a thaw. "Us? Our plans…I'd like us to carry out our plans to get married…it's fully time Jason. We have the boys to think about - we need to make their family solid…get married so you can start the adoption process like we talked about."

Jason thought about the first time he'd asked her to marry him…the joy he'd felt when she'd said yes…the anticipation of making their family whole and eternal. Looking at her now, thinking of the memories he'd uncovered since that time, he realized with a heavy heart that forever with her was not at the top of his list anymore. He was still in love with her…he was convinced that at her core she was the same person he fell for…but now there was something else too. Something about her made him edgy now. He was no longer completely convinced that his path was with her…not like before.

Turning to look out the window at the boys playing in the yard, Jason thought about his reasons for being there. He loved them. He'd made promises to them and they were good boys who needed a father. But was it him?

"I'm not so sure that's the way we should go anymore." The soft words echoed to his ears and twigged his heart, but Jason knew they were the truth. He had to admit that he was no longer one hundred percent certain that this was the family they all needed.

Elizabeth heard the words that tore the relief from a minute earlier and sent her heart careening to the ground.

"What?" She took a giant step to bring her next to him at the sink, where she stuck her head near his face, swinging his arm to force him to face her. "Jason, you are not trying to break our family apart! Don't you dare let that tramp tear us to shreds!"

His eyes narrowed when the delicate features from earlier seemed to morph into hard hatred, right before his eyes. Just how many faces did she really have?

"I presume you're referring to Sam? Why do you always insist on calling her names? You do realize that she's the one who was wronged here, right?"

"What?"

"Sam is the woman I was married to when I disappeared! She's the one who spent years yearning for her husband and the father of her child, to have their lives back…and she's the one who was left when I did return. I don't remember her, divorced her and proposed to you…and yet, she's the one who's been gracious and understanding about all of it. So again, why do you insist on calling her names all the time? What has Sam done to you?"

"What has she done?" Elizabeth scoffed and turned her lips in disgust as she flared, "She watched our son get kidnapped and did absolutely nothing, told no-one and watched us lose our minds for weeks - that's what she's done! She sent men with guns to terrorize my children at the park and taunted me for years…hated me because I gave you a son when she couldn't…that's who she is!"

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. What was she talking about? The Sam Morgan he knew would never do anything so vile as the things she was saying! Sam was a mother for crying out loud!

"You're lying!"

"Am I? Just ask her! Ask Lucky - ask anybody! That evil little whore is nothing like the martyr you're making her out to be…she's hated me for years because you loved me. You've always loved me, and that's why we bonded so easily when you couldn't remember anything at all. **_I_** , am the mother of your child and she can't stand it!"

 _'If you ever do anything to hurt Elizabeth and the boys…anything…I will kill you!'_

If the sink wasn't behind him he would've dropped through the wall! The words rang through his brain and a flash of him threatening the life of a younger, fuming Sam, shone as vivid as though it was unfolding right then in the kitchen. The hatred that burned inside him, the intense anger at her and at himself, at the situation and the dangerous misjudgments, was stifling. It was like watching a horrible black and white strip of himself and the woman he loved, even as he hated her…what the hell was she thinking?

"She's a con artist that bilked men out of their money and she would've done the same to you and Sonny if you weren't too smart for her. She latched herself onto you so she could get at your wallet - I don't know how you could ever bring yourself to ever trust her again."

Her words were a distant resonance…he was still in a fog, on a loop in his mind, threatening Sam's life! That's the kind of thug he was…threatening a woman who had loved him? Her life…he wanted to take her _life_?

He couldn't breathe. The air was suddenly sucked out of the room and he was suffocating - he had to get out. Racing past Elizabeth to the living room, Jason grabbed his jacket and bolted for the door, barely hearing the sound of his name being shouted repeatedly. He had to get out!

He wanted desperately to jump on his bike but the snow was coming down steadily now, so he jumped into the SUV instead. With no destination in mind, Jason found himself just driving. He didn't care where he went - he just needed to go.

Sam was a dangerous person? Is that why they'd ended up together…it's what they had in common? How could that be…she was remarkable with Danny! Even before he knew he'd been married to her, he considered the husband she talked about to be the luckiest man in the world to have been loved by her. She was so devoted, so sincere, so selfless…how could that possibly be the same person who would endanger children? Who was this woman?

When the SUV came to a stop, Jason was shocked to find himself outside the gates of Greystone. He'd promised Carly he'd stop by for a drink after dinner but it wasn't nearly time yet, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to spending time in Sonny's home with the man…but Carly could talk a crab into a barrel. Just as he was about to turn around, Max came out waving from the guard gate. Jason rolled the window down and nodded.

"Hey, man! You here to see Mrs. C?" Max opened the gates for him to drive through, and after a moment of hesitation, he decided to.

"She's here?"

"Yeah - go on up!"

As he drove up to the front door, Jason started to rethink his decision and was just getting ready to ease around the circular driveway when the front door swung open and Carly stepped out.

"Jase! You're here…come on inside, quickly - it's freezing."

He couldn't leave now. It would just look suspicious and Carly wouldn't stop questioning it until he fessed up. Maybe she could help answer a few things for him.

They exchanged Christmas wishes before Carly ushered him inside, where she had a roaring fire going in the study. She poured a drink for Jason and retrieved her own before joining him by the fire, where he stood rubbing cold hands together to get them warm. Jason took the offered glass and rolled it slowly between his hands as he gazed at the dancing flames.

"So, what's on your mind?" Carly smiled when he looked at her as though to ask how she knew something was. "We have plans for later but you're here now…which we both know you wouldn't be, willingly. Don't tell me you came by to cancel tonight? Jason, you have to come - you promised!"

"Why is it so important to you that I show up? What are you up to?"

Carly raised the glass to her lips and let it linger, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling as she turned away slowly.

"Carly! You're planning something - tell me now or I'm definitely not coming back."

She turned back to face him, "Why do I have to be planning anything?" The attempted look of indignation failed into one of compromise. "Okay, okay - I may have invited someone I think you'll want to spend some time with." She closed in on him deliberately.

"You're setting me up? Like on a date? Carly, I'm still engaged to Elizabeth - is that why you didn't want me to invite her?"

"I never told you not to invite her - won't matter one bit if she's there - you and Sam are inevitable…you'll see."

Jason placed the glass on the mantle and steered for the doorway, silent anger reigniting at the mention of Sam's name. He should've known.

"Where are you going?" Carly grabbed his arm and held fast. "You can't leave till you tell me what you're doing here."

Fuming, Jason stopped to face her. "Fine. Maybe you can tell me why you're so insistent that my life is with someone who would endanger a child. Why would you think I should be with someone like Sam, instead of someone good and gentle like Elizabeth? I thought you and I were supposed to be friends, Carly?"

Jason was surprised by the anger that flashed her eyes when her biting words cut through the air.

"I **_am_** your friend, Jason…I'm your **_best_** friend! You and I have been to hell and back together and that's why I know you unlike anybody - except maybe for Sam!" When his head went up in defiance she got louder, "Yes…Sam! Your wife! The love of your life - that Sam! Now, I don't know what you think you know or who you're getting this information from…wait, what am I saying, of course I know who's feeding you a line of self-serving bull!"

"Carly…" he dragged her name out warningly. He wouldn't stand for her putting Elizabeth down again, not now, not after what he remembered today.

"Don't Carly me, Jason! You need to hear this…you've been hiding from yourself long enough and I'm sick of it. Sit down - we're going to talk, and by God if you try to leave again I'll have Max cuff you to the damn banister!"

She knew poor Max would end up in traction if he even tried, but some things needed to be said and she was tired of waiting for him to come looking for answers. _Something_ had brought him to her and she would grab the opportunity while she had it. Staring him down until he succumbed to her wishes, Carly took his arm and led him to the sofa near the fire. Their talk was long overdue.


	14. Chapter 14

Jason swallowed hard, trailing off as he finished reluctantly laying out the distasteful memory for Carly, who looked at him keenly for a minute, before she sighed.

"Take a look at this photo and tell me what you see?"

Carly handed Jason the photo she'd just grabbed from the group on the nearby corner table and waited while he looked at his smiling face that rested cheek to head with Sam. They were outside somewhere, and his arm was wrapped possessively around her tiny frame, holding her lovingly to him. She was beaming, and Jason couldn't miss the gleam in his own eyes, nor the relaxed, happy, contented look about him. He was looking at a man in love.

"It's a picture of me and Sam."

He wasn't fooling her. She saw the look on his face and knew exactly what he was thinking. "Does that look like a man who hates Sam?"

He laid the photo aside gently. "It's a picture, Carly. It's open to interpretation."

"What's open to interpretation is everything Elizabeth tells you! The more things change, the more they stay the same, you know that?"

"What does that even mean?"

"It means you never change when it comes to Elizabeth Webber! From day one you've always been front and center to defend and protect her, no matter how **_vile_** she behaves! It means that just like before, she's been able to convince you that she's this innocent, defenseless little flower who you need to pamper and protect, no matter how many times she bares her disgusting claws, or how hard they tear away at your life. You're doing it right now - protecting her at the expense of your family and yourself. She's not who you think she is, Jason!"

Jason rose restlessly to his feet, going back over to the fire to stare into its dancing depths. "You're not exactly impartial where she's concerned. You openly hate her."

"With good reason…you ever think of that?" Carly rose and joined his side at the fireplace, the anguished look on her face channeled from the need to reach her friend. "I admit at first I hated her because you always defended her so fiercely, even against me…but she's given me plenty of legitimate reasons since! And she's not innocent…she always gave back as good as she got - believe me…but _you've_ never seen the ugly side of her that she reserves for any other woman you ever deigned to give a damn about - she made certain of that. This is the woman who turned a blind eye when her husband had me locked up in a panic room in her house, pregnant and in fear for the life of my unborn baby, then made excuses and defended him every chance she got - so yes - I hate her guts! She's weak and complacent! She's also the same woman who was living her life just fine and in love with Lucky, until she found out you worshipped **_Sam_** _,_ and wanted a family with her…suddenly you were the one she was meant to be with and she just **_had_** to have you. The minute your relationship with Sam showed the tiniest vulnerability, she swooped in and spread her legs open, despite knowing how in love you were with Sam and how crushed you were without her…pretending to be your friend, then gloated every chance she got that she was giving you the child you've always wanted, when Sam couldn't."

"You're not making any sense. None of what you're saying is making any sense. What panic room? What husband?"

"Did she bother to tell you that your last go round with Ric Lansing when you were Jake Doe wasn't your first?" She waited a second then snickered, "Of course not! Elizabeth will never let you find anything out about her that doesn't paint her in the light of a saint! She will be quick to tell you that Sam slept with your enemy and it killed you, but she'll never tell you **_that_** was the only reason you slept with **_her_** the night you made Jake, and that she was very much married at the time. She'll never tell you what a lying, deceitful, treacherous little slut she really is!"

Jason needed to sit. "She said we'd always wanted to be together and we spent a magical night in each other's arms."

Men could be so dense. Carly wished she could shake his spidey senses back into him somehow but then she remembered how useless they'd always proven against the nurse anyway.

"I'm sure she did…and if you hadn't had your head stuck so far up her ass you might've bothered to ask somebody else who knew you to tell you the real truth! Sam got shot in your arms by an enemy, so you pushed her away thinking it was the only way to protect the woman who was your heart and soul. The night you slept with Elizabeth, you'd gone back to get Sam to work things out, but saw her with Ric - and that's another story unto itself right there. That slimy son-of-a-bitch, who Elizabeth used to be married to, by the way - that you never gave her any grief about either…that egomaniac took advantage of Sam when she was at the lowest point in her life…because you!"

When he looked at her with the shock she wanted to elicit from him, Carly nodded and continued, "Yes -you! You crushed that woman when you left her the way you did - and it doesn't matter that you thought you were doing the right thing and protecting her - the way you did it was harsh and thoughtless…and still she fought for you with everything in her. There she was - feeling unloved and unwanted - by you, the only person she had left in the world and had given everything to - by Alexis, the apathetic mother she just found out she had and who had convinced you to leave her…she had no-one! She was spiraling and you were in hell…and little miss perfect, who was supposed to be your friend, climbed all the way up to your penthouse in the middle of a damn blackout to take advantage of the agony you were in."

"Oh, come on, Carly - I'm a grown man. I don't think she forced me to sleep with her or get her pregnant. I'm just as responsible for what happened."

"Listen to you - right on cue to defend her like she's anything but a cur in heat!" Carly glared angrily at his continued state of delusion. "The only reason she ended up pregnant is because you were drunk, in pain, and the condom was a dud…but to hear her tell it - you two were starcrossed lovers who finally declared yourselves and made a miracle together. She's the one night stand from hell! You needed a **_friend_** that night, Jason! Not the selfish whore who used you to make herself feel better!"

Jason was genuinely shocked. Ever since he found out who he was, all he heard from Elizabeth was how they'd forever wanted to be with each other but his life and her commitments always got in the way. He really believed that his violent way of living was the only thing that had stood between them, that had prevented him from being with the woman he truly wanted.

"I thought that I cheated on Sam. I didn't know how I could do that, but I thought that must've been just how strongly I always felt about Elizabeth."

Carly was condescending and getting angrier. "Somebody was cheated alright! I've told you before - you care about her, but you're in love with Sam…and she damn well knew it! Don't you think if anybody knows, your best friend does?" She sat down again and gestured animatedly with her hands, a nervous energy breezing through her as she fought to reach her friend. "Things have never been easy for you and Sam, but you became as strong as you were together because of everything you've been through. She's been there for you through _everything_ and you've been there for her - I won't let you think otherwise…so you stay there, and listen to me…I'm going to tell you what you _don't_ want to know about your life! You've been living blindly under Elizabeth's allusions that it was all bad and violent, and I'm sick of it! It's not true, and I've had it with you hiding from yourself! **_You were wonderful!_** And if you did anything wrong, it was to allow that little slut to lead you to betray people you cared about!"

She reminded him about their own friendship that started as a tryst and turned into the most unlikely lifetime bond - the best one she's ever known. She told him about AJ and Tony and Michael, about Sonny and the lasting brotherhood that was forged between them. She told him about Robin, whom she hated and Courtney, whom she loved, Baby Lila, Baby Hope, and Sam's brother Danny. She told him about his brain ailments and his election to die rather than be a vegetable. She told him about the capers and the villains who'd tried to use Sam to hurt him, the countless times she'd backed him up fearlessly and at the risk of her own life.

When she told him of Sam's relentless fight, against him and anyone who said so much as a bad word against him - the Quartermaines, the police, his enemies, even her…even Sonny…Jason felt more shame than he ever had in his life. He thought of the memory he had earlier that day where he threatened her and the anger that went with it, and he felt nothing but disgust with himself. Realizing that he wasn't the least bit surprised by hearing who Sam was, he also realized he already knew her…that he'd been right the first time. So why had he betrayed her? Was that the kind of dangerous animal he'd been…able to look into the eyes of someone who'd repeatedly laid her life down for him and threaten to take her own?

He had no idea what led to the ugliness that Elizabeth told him about but he knew how to find out. He knew he should have done that the minute he'd heard…he should've gone to Sam and gotten it from her own lips. She didn't lie to him. For as long as he'd known her, Sam always told him the truth. Carly was asking him something.

"Have you asked yourself, how, after all that happened, you were able to forgive Sam enough to marry her and start a family with her?"

How could he when he'd had everything all wrong? From the moment he hit town and didn't recognize who he's hearing is the woman of his dreams, didn't pay attention to the connection that had been pulling at him since he met her in the halls of that hospital, didn't choose her when she stood before him in all her compelling, unbelievable glory…he'd gotten it all so very, very wrong!

"You know, people like Elizabeth will say we want you with Sam because she's never minded you putting us first…but that's a damn lie! I **_hated_** Sam when she first came to town…she got involved with Sonny and I wanted nothing more than to chase her right back out on a broomstick. Then _you_ fell under her spell too, and boy that's when we went at it - I can't tell you how many times we threw down, Sam and I - but she made it very clear from jump that she wasn't going anywhere. Sam wasn't afraid of me, and I hated her even more for that…but what I hated most was how much you loved her. I had always come first with you, always - through Elizabeth, through everybody - I was first…until Sam. For the first time, you told me right out, that I wouldn't like it if I tried to make you choose between us. You'd never done that before or since…and that's when I knew how truly serious you were about her. But Sam didn't care about being first. She loved you and she's always respected the fact that you had people in your life before you knew her…even that stifling bitch, Elizabeth. She never asked you not to be friends with her - even after you hurt her…because what always mattered to Sam was that **_you_** were happy! She understood you in a way that made me crazy…gave you what you needed before you yourself even knew what it was. She was a part of you, Jason!"

"Then why didn't I _feel_ her, Carly? Why did it take me so long to connect?"

"Are you kidding me? As much as you and Sam were involved with other people when you met, you couldn't stay away from each other. When you wanted someone you could trust, to help you find out who you were, who was the first person you thought of? When you needed somebody to talk to about all the things that were eating you up but Elizabeth didn't want to hear, who did you seek out? You and Sam were friends for _months_ before you got involved with each other that first time, even though you lived together…of course you felt comfortable as friends this time too! Elizabeth latched herself onto you the minute you showed up in that ER, it's like stalker instinct with her when it comes to you. How could you not grow attached to her when she made herself so readily available on a daily basis? But ask yourself this…how is it that Elizabeth is the only person in this town who seems to hate Sam's guts? I mean, if Sam's the queen of evil like she wants to make you believe, why don't more people despise her around here? Can you name one other person you've met who can't stand Sam?"

Jason looked at Carly keenly, weighing her question carefully. He really couldn't think of one. Everybody in her circle always seemed to gravitate to her, moved to protect and defend her…everyone - from each member of her family, to the many friends he'd seen go out of their way for her, to strangers in the street she'd had a kind word or did an unsolicited good deed for. Spinelli loved her beyond words, Maxie considered her a close friend, even hard as nails, Epiphany Johnson had a soft spot for her. Theres' no way these people would revere someone who hurt children. There was clearly alot more to the story, and equally clear he would not get it from Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth was real quick to tell you that Sam didn't intervene when she saw Jake getting kidnapped, but I bet she didn't bother to tell you that Sam was numb from you trampling her soul…and with **_her_** help! I bet she didn't take any responsibility for leaving her baby careless in the first place! And I bet she sure as hell didn't tell you, Sam was the only reason Jake is alive today!"

" ** _What_**?"

Carly was shaking her hear again. "No, of course she wouldn't. I'm selfish as hell and I've had my low moments, Jason, but that bitch is the worse mother in the world… God only knows how those boys have lived till now. Despite all her protestations and pretend selflessness about keeping your son away from your dangerous lifestyle, she gladly snuck around with you for your dirty little sexcapades…you, who always told the truth…compromised yourself and lied constantly to sneak around with her. She couldn't let anyone know she was screwing a mobster, so you had to be kept in the shadows, but some Russians you had beef with _did_ find out and they took Jake…and while your precious Elizabeth was off biting her nails and crying up a storm in the arms of her exhusband, it was _Sam_ …the baby snatcher who hated Jake and wanted him dead, the lowlife scum who didn't deserve honesty and faithfulness from you…it was **_Sam_** _,_ who went inside a den of armed Russians, kicked ass, and jumped through a window with **_your_** baby, just before the entire damn place blew to kingdom come…to save **_your_** son…the one you couldn't be bothered to tell her about or deign to share with her! **_Sam_** , who you and Elizabeth treated like trash beneath your feet, who you couldn't bother to respect enough to be honest and forthcoming with, because Elizabeth told you to betray her! **_Sam_** …who'd crawled through countless gutters on her belly to be by your side in the trenches, without blinking… ** _that's_** who saved his life. She had to risk her own, to get your holy forgiveness, after everything she'd already done for you…and still to this day, that ungrateful bitch has the gall and the nerve to still hate Sam and want to see her left with nothing."

Jason's brain was about to explode. The way Carly spewed his life at him, switching from derision to contempt, to sarcasm and contrition, to quiet anger…the more she told him, the more it resonated with a distinct ring of truth…the more he could feel himself sinking low, low to the floor. _What_? He knew he was a dangerous person and he knew he'd lived an eventful life, but he never pictured Sam right there, right next to him through every part of it. Why hadn't he protected her better? Why did she ever forgive the things Carly described? He knew there was no love lost between her and Elizabeth, but he'd had no idea it had gotten that bad and had gone on for that long. After all of it, Sam is the one he'd married, and the child they shared was created by the love between them, in the sanctity of that union. How could his mind have forgotten her this way? How could his heart not know her on sight?

 _His head went up when a lightbulb switched on the brightest light._ But it did! It did know her! It had beat half out of his chest when he saw her running down the hall of the hospital…only he hadn't recognized it for what it was. He'd thought at the time, he'd just pushed himself too far exercising…but that was not the cause of his shortness of breath and the violent pitter patter of his heart. It was her! After years away from her, it had thumped in profound recognition of the sight of her gorgeous visage! And he'd completely missed recognizing it! Completely missed the memory of that sweet, sweet voice that drifted to him all the way deep, deep within his sluggish mind…that angelic voice that called him while his battered brain slumbered, coaxing him to wake. It had been _her_ voice!

"I need to see her."

"Yes, you do. But don't be surprised if she doesn't want to see you. You've been a royal ass to her and she has to be getting pretty sick of you by now…I know I've wanted to strangle you a time or two myself. You've never been a stupid man, Jason - but you've been allowing Elizabeth Webber to yank your chain and lead you around by the nose like a whipped pig. It's sickening to watch and it's really pissing me off!"

"Ouch, Carly. That's a little harsh, isn't it?"

Sonny had entered the room from the kitchen and had obviously been listening. He neared them and held his hand out to Jason. "Merry Christmas, Man!"

Hesitant at first, Jason thought better of being rude to the man in his home. Accepting the hand offered, he returned the greeting, then his head went up when he was hit with another memory.

"You lent me money!"

"What? When did Sonny lend you money?"

Jason had not looked away from Sonny, who's head also went up in recognition of the incident he was referring to.

"Cab fare." Sonny turned to Carly who was looking more puzzled. "It was years ago - when we first met."

"You weren't there." Jason was looking past Carly, the night playing out in his memory…the temper tantrum he threw when Keisha kept pushing, they all kept yapping at him to give something he couldn't. He was sick of their expectations and pitying looks, and just wanted to be left alone.

"We didn't know each other then." Carly got hopeful. "Has this type of thing been happening to you alot - have you been remembering stuff?"

His head went to side with the tiny shrug of his shoulders. "Off and on for a few weeks. I'll have flashes that don't last very long, most of them not making much sense. Not enough to piece anything significant together."

"Maybe you should get some help with that - if could benefit you to talk to someone." Carly rolled her eyes when Sonny scoffed at her suggestion. "Lord knows it'll be a helluva lot better than your source of information so far!"

Jason smiled, despite the heaviness in his heart. "That's sort of what Danny said."

"Yeah? That smart little boy is the best thing you ever did - I can tell you that!"

Jason thought of Danny and his other boys too. For weeks he'd been floundering, growing more and more uncertain of the choices he'd made and the life he was living. He'd started out thinking he was doing the right thing for everyone - causing the least disruption to everyone's lives…but lately it had all been shot to hell. Sam and Danny were no longer happy in a family of their own and he wasn't feeling much like he belonged where he was either. Every sense in his body had been screaming at him with every move he made lately, and it was making him crazy. He was no longer the man certain that he was meant to be Elizabeth's husband, but he felt such an obligation to the boys he'd assumed a responsibility for. They were expecting him to be their father and he'd been telling them for months now that was what he wanted too.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Sonny eyed him curiously from the bar where he was pouring himself a scotch. When Jason shoved his hands inside his pockets and shrugged, Sonny gestured for him to sit. "You and I had a conversation the day you… _disappeared_ , and I know it probably has little bearing on the choices you feel you need to make now, but brother, I gotta tell ya…if you don't learn from your mistakes, you're bound to repeat em."

Jason said nothing…not sure what was coming but felt compelled to listen. He had no doubt they weren't lying about anything they told him, but he would reserve to take it all with a grain of salt, reminding himself there may be an agenda at work, especially with Sonny, whom he just didn't trust very much…or like, for that matter.

"You'd just gotten Danny back for Sam and you were waiting at the hospital, while the doctors checked him out. Your main concern was what type of life you could give them, but the one thing that you were very clear about was what you really wanted. _I want Sam…and Danny! I want to be there with Sam to teach him the things that I've learned, help him avoid some of the mistakes that I've made. I want Danny to know that I'm his father and that I love him…no matter what!"_ Sonny looked at his friend earnestly. "Those were **_your_** words, brother! You wanted your family, and you didn't even know Danny was yours at the time!"

Carly looked at Sonny in alarm and Jason's head whipped. "What do you mean? Why was there a chance that Danny wasn't mine?"

"Oh, shit! Dammit, Sonny - that's a story for another time! Nobody wants to talk about Franco!"

"Franco?" Jason was on his feet again, glaring from one to the other. "What the hell does that freak have to do with my son?"

"Ah, man - I'm sorry, Jason…"

Jason waved his hand to cut him off. "No, just tell me what the hell you meant by that? What happened with Franco and Danny?"

In an instant Carly was standing next to him with a stiff drink. "Here, take this!" When he started to shake his head she insisted with a stern jerk of hers and grabbed his hand to stuff it in, "Take it, Jason!"

He took if from her and would've put it aside but she glared at him until he took a swig to make her happy. Then she took a deep breath and shocked him worse than she'd been doing all evening. "For most of Sam's pregnancy, you were under the assumption that Danny was Franco's."

Jason's head started reeling again. Why was each thing they told him more shocking than the last? Franco and Sam? But she hated the creep! And Danny was conceived right after they got married…what the hell?

"It's nothing that you're thinking, Jason." Sonny knew that look, knew where his own thoughts would've traveled if he was the one hearing this news. Nodding to Carly to indicate she should hurry up and get on with it, Sonny watched carefully as Jason listened to each sickening detail, the stone cold expression that covered his face and stayed there, telling Sonny what he already knew. Franco was one dead son of a bitch!


	15. Chapter 15

Sam was exhausted. She'd spent the rest of the morning with Danny at Monica's having brunch and racing around with him in the back yard. He loved the snow, unlike Sam who couldn't stand the cold and would spend winter inside if she could. She knew his father had promised to take him sledding that afternoon but she really didn't expect to see him again for the day, so she filled the gap and allowed him to run until he was tired. She laughed at him trying to make snowballs but the falling snow was melting almost as soon as it touched the ground, which didn't give him much to work with. They ran around trying to catch snowflakes and then each other, until they both sank wearily, Sam still tired from lack of sleep from the night before. Honestly, she hadn't been sleeping well for weeks…the result of her mind being way too heavily burdened.

They went back inside for a cup of cocoa with Monica before she had to leave for the hospital, then Sam decided they'd go home for a much needed nap. They were almost there when her phone beeped with a text from Jason, asking if he could stop by. Sam looked back at Danny, tuckered out in his booster seat, and she knew neither of them could deal with another visit from him today. She was about to ignore the message when it occurred to her that might prompt him to just come by anyway, so she answered, telling him they were tied up for the afternoon. Two seconds later the phone beeped again, the world ' _please_ ' alerting her that something must be up, but again she replied no. She was tired and really not in the frame of mind to assuage whatever guilt he was feeling then. The only thing she was looking forward to was the next few hours, blissfully alone with her baby, both of them fast asleep. She knew she'd regret it later when Danny stayed awake all night, but she was a night owl too, so they'd deal with it then.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

His face looked troubled as he stared at the phone in his hand that had beeped twice in the space of a few seconds.

"What's the matter - Sam won't see you, will she?"

Jason looked up from the phone to meet Carly's knowing eyes, then back at the screen, where the words mocked him openly. She wouldn't even give him a few minutes?

Carly sat back on the sofa and crossed her legs, shaking a finger in his direction, "I'd feel sorry for you if you didn't deserve that! This is what happens when you allow that little liar to whisper in your ear for months, and block out the people who you know damn well had been your life before your accident. You never once asked yourself why Elizabeth Webber wasn't the one you were married to before you went missing, if your relationship was as peachy as she's been letting on!"

Jason looked blankly at Carly, as her words echoed around him, then sighed as he put the useless phone back in his pocket and turned towards the fire. Carly got up to stand next to him.

"Jason, you could've had that tart years ago - but you didn't want her! Even after she cheated on her marriage and you two snuck around in secret for months afterwards, it was because you wanted to give Jake a family. You wanted to do right by your son, so you offered to marry her…only, the tramp has never been woman enough to handle you, and she knew it - which is why, even years later, she was still boiling in desperation, trying everything to get you to leave Sam. She got so desperate that she switched Danny's DNA test and told you he wasn't Sam's…after everything you two had just been through! **_That's_** who you thought was your friend!"

"What? Elizabeth would never do that, Carly!" He could believe alot of what she was saying, but Elizabeth being deliberately and criminally deceitful and vindictive? No way were they talking about the same person.

Carly nodded at his disbelieving look, prepared for the denial he kept on reserve for anything ugly about the sainted slut.

"Yes - unbelievable, isn't it? Your sweet, honest, trustworthy little angel told that despicable, life altering lie to keep you from the life she **_knew_** you wanted! She knew you wanted your wife back and Danny would cement that for you, so what did that hypocritical little bitch do? She tried to let Sam go on grieving for **_another_** child she thought had died… ** _who does that?_** What mother do you know could do that? What woman with a soul? Talking shit about she did it for the woman who'd been raising a child as her own for four months. That pathetic little loser, who likes to brag about how she came clean after only one day - like she gets a gold star…bitch actually blamed Sam for you not marrying her and raising Jake. She actually said it was Sam's fault that Jake died - that his life would've turned out differently if not for Sam! Can you believe that shit? After her whoring ass was the one that neglected to notice her four year old walking out the door that **_she_** left open… ** _at night_** …and into traffic… ** _it was Sam's fault!_** Once again she was the **_horrible_** mother who put her child in harm's way and once again, **_Sam_** was to blame! And just like clockwork, what did you do? You were among the very first to coddle and worship at her feet with your usual, _'it wasn't your fault, Elizabeth'_ …like fucking hell it wasn't!"

His mind was on fire. It was unbelievable, all the information he'd uncovered in one afternoon! There was so much he had no idea about, so much Sam had been dealing with all on her own, while her husband flaunted another woman in her face…apparently, a woman who'd worked tirelessly to get that very same result for years, and a husband who had been complacent in it all before… here he'd been again, allowing himself to be the pawn used to hurt someone he should've been protecting. No wonder she wouldn't even see him!

Carly went over to the bar to freshen her glass. "Maybe she was right…I mean, it _was_ because of Sam! It was because you loved her more than you'll ever love pathetic, desperate, clingy, grungy Elizabeth Webber - that's why you've never been able to settle for that skeeze. It took you losing the memory of your **_entire_** life, for you to be the man who would settle for that whore." Carly whipped around to face Jason, "And don't tell me not to call her names - she deserves every last one of them! Not one of those boys share the same father - not one! She had the first one for her best friend's husband - I bet she didn't tell you that either! Bitch was married to my cousin but screwing you, then after he forgave that, she was engaged to him again and screwing his **_brother_** _,_ when she had the third one…every single one of them needed a paternity test to id the unlucky pops!" She eyed her friend with a look of distaste, " ** _That_** is the convoluted well you've chosen to go swimming in for the rest of your life!"

"Alright, alright - Carly give the man a break." Sonny moved from where he'd been silently watching the show, seeing his wife getting ready to really dive in on his friend who needed to come up for air.

"No, Sonny - you know I'm not lying. You yourself had to tell her once that Jason loved Sam - that little bitch just won't leave them alone! And he's the fool who's been taking her side over Sam's ever since he got back!" She swung to point at Jason angrily, "You constantly take her side over Sam's and it's a dick move!"

Stepping closer to him, she punched his arm hard, pointing a finger at him again, "I didn't go through all that shit to prove you're my best friend, for you to settle for a miserable union with Elizabeth Webber! I wanted you to take your life back, to take back the family you loved more than anything and be happy again! I don't care if you never pick up another gun or work for Sonny another day in your life - hell, I'd prefer it if you didn't - but you get your damn head out of the sand and start living again, goddammit! Stop being that bitch's puppet, or I swear to Jesus I'll not be responsible for what I do!"

Jason rubbed his arm where it actually hurt. "Oui! Why did you punch me?"

Carly doubled her fist and raised it again. "And I'll punch you again if you don't open your damn eyes and take your balls back. You've been letting that witch call the shots and tell you who you can and cannot be, who you can and cannot be around, and it's disgusting!" She shoved his arm then slapped it. "That's not you!"

Turning her back in exasperation, Carly flicked her hair behind an ear, then swung back around to face him. "Do you know why you've always chosen Sam over everybody…over Courtney, over Robin, when she came back, over Elizabeth? It's because Sam doesn't make demands on you - she never has. You have always been free to be yourself, to do what makes you happy, and that's because she's never asked you to change a single thing about who you were, ever! You've never been with somebody like that before…there was always some part of you that either scared them or wasn't good enough…and you always tried to change to suit them…but not Sam…she was happy when you were happy…and you were the happiest I've ever seen you, when you were with her." She stepped rapidly to get directly in front of him, her arm waving wildly as her face smirked, "This…this here is not the happy you…contented with yourself and the woman who loves you the same way you love her. I've seen you unbelievably happy, Jase - and this is not it!"

She rested a hand on his arm and tugged urgently, "I know that people change and grow and find new things about themselves everyday, but Jason you've changed who you were at your core to be in this sad excuse for a relationship. It's not about pleasing me, or Sonny, or Sam, or anybody else for that matter! It's that you think you have to be this boring simpleton, lapping at Elizabeth's tail, to make your life worthwhile." She pinched him where her hand laid. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

Pulling his arm away from her, Jason glared at his friend. "Will you stop that?" He moved further out of her reach. "None of us are the same people we were, Carly. I'm no longer the man Sam was married to and I can't pretend to be him. That wouldn't be fair to anyone."

"Nobody expected you to pick up right where you left off, Jason - it's not your fault that you can't remember…but it's damn well your fault that you've been a first class asshole to everybody who loved you and wanted you back. You've been acting like it has to be Elizabeth or us…that white picket fence life or nothing at all…how do you think that makes us feel? How do you think those of us who know the real you, who know your heart, feel about the way you've been treating the people who we **_know_** mean **_everything_** to you? You wanted Danny more than anything! _Anything_! And you've barely given that sweet little boy any of yourself. All you've been centered on is being a father to that witch's brood, like you're trying to make up for the fact that she hasn't been woman enough to make not one of their fathers, or a single one of the hundred men she's been with, want to stay…and what's equally sickening, is that she's okay with you barely seeing Danny. You know why? She knows damn well that if you spend time around Sam and Danny that it's just a matter of time before you realize what you really left behind!"

"Carly, you have to calm down." Sonny went to his wife and took her hand to lead her back to the sofa where he guided her to sit. "Stop beating the man up - give him a minute."

"He's had plenty of minutes, Sonny and he's only been giving them to that sadistic tart, who doesn't care about anybody but herself! This is all about what **_she_** needs…she doesn't give a damn about Jason!"

"Come on, Carly - that's not completely true. She nursed me back to health and gave me a place to live, a family."

" _A_ \- nursing you was her **_job_**! _B_ \- no mother in her right mind, brings a total stranger into the home with her young children - especially nowadays…you could've been anybody! That was not saintly or kind - it was stupid and dangerous! Her history says she is every bit the person I'm describing, and if you continue to run around with blinders on for that bitch, then you deserve everything she does to you. And if you lose Sam and Danny for good this time because of it, you deserve the hell you'll be marrying into when you commit the rest of your life to that bitch!"

"Carly, it's Christmas. Ease up, will ya?" Sonny saw things going downhill fast and knowing his wife, he knew she was two minutes away from alienating Jason even more, and that he'd probably never come back this time. She was angry and getting more irate, something that had been happening since Jason had been refusing to acknowledge anything about his past. He was afraid she was about to deck the man.

Jason had heard enough. He knew Carly wasn't lying, knew she believed everything she said and some of it was probably deserved, but he was in a really delicate situation. He thought finally getting some answers might help make things clearer but now he had even more of a mess to rummage through.

"Look, Sonny's right - it's Christmas. Thanks for doing this but I'm going to leave you to get back to your family." He cleared his throat and headed for the door.

"Jason!"

He turned around to face Carly as she came towards him, wary that she was about to hit him again, but she caught him off guard when she threw her arms around his neck and clung tightly. "You're family too, okay…I need you to always remember that." She eased back and clasped his head between her hands to look him in the eyes, her own swimming with love for him, mixed with a sadness at his state of confusion. "You will always be my family - don't you ever forget that!"

He really did feel very lost. Jason drove away from Greystone and ended up outside Harborview Towers, sitting in the running SUV as he fought the urge that was tugging at him to show up at her door unannounced. She had expressly told him not to come, and when he left Carly and Sonny, it hadn't been his intention to drive over, yet there he was. It had only been a few hours since he last saw her, but the need to see her face, see her beautiful smile…to feel the warmth of her genuinely beautiful spirit…he really missed her.

He couldn't bring himself to get out. She didn't want to see him and he had no right pushing himself on her. He'd been more than the royal ass Carly called him…he'd been insensitive and hurtful…blind to pain his actions must've caused her. She was so strong, so formidable and steady…he hadn't once thought about her not eventually being okay with the way things had turned out. Even after she left Patrick, she'd seemed so be handling it so well, he hadn't bothered to consider that she could be reeling inside. Or that he still had something to do with it. Had he always taken her for granted? Is that why he'd thought it okay to leave her to get himself shot? Had he always taken her strength from her and not given her total loyalty in return? How had she managed to love him so unselfishly and so completely?

He didn't even know what he wanted to say to her really. He knew he wanted to hear about their life, directly from the source, but he had no idea how to manage the way he'd been feeling about her in recent weeks. Something unfamiliar was happening to him and she was at the very center of it. He wanted to be near her all the time. Whenever he wasn't with her he wanted to be, and the minute he left her he wanted to go back. The flashes and memories he'd had of her left him wanting more and yearning for the full recollection or the series of events that unfolded between them. There was something so burningly significant in those memories that always left him breathless and the tiniest bit afraid. The emotional connection that burned through each one had him wondering if he was really recalling things the way they'd actually happened, having nothing he could associate or equate the scorching ferocity with. He'd never before felt anything at all like it.

When it dawned on him that he was behaving like a stalker, Jason drove away and headed to the one place he could bring himself to go. When he'd finally gotten a fire started to stamp out the cold and the snow coming down, he walked around the cabin like he did the last time he was there. He could feel her in every corner of the room, in every brick in the wall and every surface within reach. He'd built this place for her and she was in every part of it. She was there with him.

A few hours later, the bleak afternoon sky had turned dark and the snow was coming down harder, sticking to everything and blanketing the trees all around. Jason reached for his phone and dialed a number, knowing it would be a hard call to make, but one he had to.

"Jason! I've been waiting and waiting - where are you?"

He took a deep breath, fully expecting the hysterics and wanting no part of them. "I'm going to be gone for a couple days - I'm just calling to let you know."

"Gone where, Jason! What is going on? When are you going to stop this and put our family back together?"

"Elizabeth, you and I need to talk, but I can't do this right now. I need a couple days by myself - I'll be back soon."

"What am I supposed to tell the boys? You can't just run out on us, Jason - you promised to be here. It's Christmas for godssake!"

"I didn't call to argue, I just wanted you to know you don't need to worry - I'm fine. I'll explain everything to the boys when I get back."

"I wish you'd explain it to me, because I don't understand any of this. We were perfectly happy, now all of a sudden you can't stay away from Sam and you're disappearing for days…she's there with you, isn't she? That slut is who you're leaving your family and taking off with!"

"Okay, this conversation just ended. I'll see you in a couple days." Hanging up before she started again, he turned the phone off and tossed it to the counter, walking over to the window to stare out at the dark, starless, snowy night, his thoughts traveling the path he came…down the country road and back to the Harborview Towers high-rise with its two occupants that wrenched a distinct, soulful longing from his heart. What the hell was he going to do now?


	16. Chapter 16

Sam was in the middle of her latest dream. Literally. As she surveyed the chaos around her with the photoshoot for the Crimson ad that had taken over her entire office, she was filled with the pride that had returned with each step she took towards putting her business back in line. She almost called off the shoot when she saw just how many people were needed to take what she thought was going to be one simple photo, but she should have known the minute she got Maxie involved that her office would be overrun by a small production team. Photographer and assistant, lighting techs, wardrobe and makeup specialists, manicurist…it apparently was going to take a village.

"This is the last set, Samantha - you look fabulous! Lift your chin just a little higher…little bit more…yes, that's it! Beautiful!"

When Maxie said she had a young photographer who knew his craft really well, she was expecting Dillon Quartermaine, but he was on assignment in the city, so she got the man they used for most of their overseas shoots instead. Maxie had picked out the outfits just like Sam knew she would, four different looks that involved a combination of jeans, slacks, collar shirts and jackets - the last set she now wore, and her favorite of the lot…a sleek pair of skintight space grey jeans, matched with a fitted, navy button up shirt and a darker blue leather jacket, complemented by the new pair of red Cartulo stiletto boots that had Sam feeling in her element. It was the chic look she wanted, with her dark hair cascading past her shoulders, where the loose curled ends bounced playfully when she moved.

She'd taken shots all over the office - behind her desk, standing with the phone to her ear, poring over case files, even outside on the balcony, looking out over the town like she was deep, deep in thought. But she was over it now. It had been hours spent on something she'd expected to take just minutes.

"Are we about done?" She struggled to keep the impatience from her voice but it was bouncing up and all through her.

"Yes, yes - you're almost done, Sam. You'd better hurry, Ian…she lasted a lot longer than I thought she would!" Maxie had been anticipating the complaint for hours and was impressed by the restraint her friend had shown thus far.

"Just one more…and…we're done! Great job, Samantha. I think we got some really good shots here."

"Wonderful! Thanks, Ian - let's take a look." Maxie looped an arm through Sam's as they all moved to where the assistant had set up the laptop on Spinelli's desk with the shots from earlier, queued for viewing. "Oh, wow…you weren't kidding! Sam, how the devil will we choose just one - these are fabulous!"

Seeing herself looking like one of the regular supermodels that usually graced the pages of Crimson, was a first, and Sam was definitely pleased with the outcome of the last dredging few hours. "Oh wow…these are so much better than I expected."

"You're gorgeous, Samantha! Every shot looks better than the last - I could shoot you all day." Ian turned to Maxie, his light brown eyes swimming with mischief, "Are you sure she's not a model? We should use her for the Valentine's Jewelry spread." His eyes flashed back to Sam and an eyebrow raised, "You would look gorgeous in nothing but diamonds and emeralds - I'm picturing it right now."

Walking away from those eyes that were blatantly flirting with her, Sam chuckled aloud. "Thanks, but I already have a day job."

Ian's bright white smile was appreciative as he watched her cross the room. "I can see that. A very impressive one at that…but I'd love the chance to shoot you again."

Sam checked her phone and returned a text to Danny's preschool teacher, barely shaking her head at the compliment, missing when Ian sidled up to Maxie, who was checking her own phone near his assistant.

"So…what's her story? Is she single?"

Maxie looked up in surprise and looked from him to Sam and back again, seeing for the first time the starstruck look on the man's face as he ogled Sam and trained the camera he was holding in her direction, capturing one last candid shot. Poor, besotted bastard! "Ahh, Ian…you don't want to go there." When his look at her was just a more curious one she continued, "Seriously - you are _not_ her type."

"Really? What exactly is her type?"

"Not you…believe me! Sam would eat a lamb like you for breakfast!" Maxie patted his shoulder then grabbed her bag from the desk and gave him a last look, "Trust me - stick to the little bulimic models who think you're funny and charming and hang on your every word. Sam is way too much woman for you, my friend!"

Maxie stopped at her friend's side on her way out. "Hey - I have to swing by Mac's and Felicia's for a second - how about you take me to lunch at the MertroCourt for getting this fabulous shoot off the ground in just two days? Plus you look hot in that - let's go show it off, shall we?"

Sam smiled at her friend whom she loved so much. "Deal. I'll meet you there in twenty."

She was definitely feeling the new additions to her wardrobe and was okay with staying in this outfit for the rest of the day, noticing how she was starting to feel as brand new as the clothes were. That feeling she got from exhibiting her own independence had truly been missed. It was like welcoming herself back from a long, overwrought trip from which she was more than ready to come home!

Taking a seat behind her desk and opening her laptop, Sam decided she'd check work email after waving Maxie out, looking up inquiringly when Ian sat in the chair in front and leant forward with that cheshire smile that he undoubtedly knew enhanced his handsome, dark features.

"So, Samantha - what do you say we take this town on tonight? Something tells me you're one hell of a date, so how about it - care to join me for some dinner and a little dancing?"

Surprised by the random request, Sam stared at him for a minute before she smiled and tucked her hair behind an ear and went back to her emails. "Thanks but no, thank you."

Ian rested the camera he was holding ontop of the desk and sat up further. "Why not…I don't see a ring. Unbreak my heart and tell me some schmuck hasn't taken you off the market already?"

Still smiling, Sam thought how cute his little pickup routine was. Even though she wasn't the least bit interested - _he was definitely too soft and cuddly for her taste_ \- it was a little flattering to have someone notice again. She laid her hands to the side of the laptop and looked at him closely.

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Old enough, but does it really matter?"

"No, not really…because the answer is still no. But you should probably stick a little closer to your own age…you might have better luck." He was definitely no older than Lucas.

"Come on Samantha…business is over, so what's wrong with taking a little pleasure with each other? I'm not that much younger than you, and besides…a little bit younger might be just what you need."

Cute was losing its appeal and Sam was way more interested in diving into the new emails she'd seen waiting from some former clients. Business was about to restart.

"Okay, you can stop now. You asked, I answered…let's move on. Thanks for the great shoot - I can't wait to see the finished product!" She looked away to the laptop and dove into the first email, ignoring the sigh he released when he rose and headed back to the assistant, who was still gathering his equipment. "And, Ian…" She didn't need to look up to know he'd stopped to look back at her. "…I go by Sam."

For some reason, it always felt to her like men who used her full, given name, did it to feminize her and paint her softer, weaker, for their own purpose. Men who felt that her strength compromised their own, found it necessary to remind her that she was but a girl. Could be why she'd never been turned on by a man calling her, _Samantha_.

"Bingo!"

A former client who's relationship was saved when her investigative skills proved his wife was being blackmailed and not having an affair, had a new job for her. She reached for the phone and dialed his number, and five minutes later she had her first case in a long time on the books. His wife had a child when she was a teenager and they wanted Sam to find everything she could about the young woman who showed up claiming to be her. After setting a date and time to sit down and find out everything they knew about the adoption, Sam walked Ian and his crew out.

"Hey, think about what we talked about. Maxie knows how to reach me, when you change your mind." He'd watched her on the phone doing her thing, and got even more intrigued by the captivating raven haired beauty with the no-nonsense attitude. He needed to get to know Samantha Morgan.

Sam patted him placatingly on the shoulder as she ushered him out. "You hold onto that confidence there, pal. It'll definitely get you places."

Smiling at the assistant, who came up behind and followed him out the door after rolling his eyes to the ceiling and shaking his head, Sam shared his coy snicker at the man's persistence.

She got to the MetroCourt before Maxie and was holding a glass of bubbly up to her when she sat down at the table on the top floor restaurant.

"Champagne…what are we celebrating?" Maxie took the glass, all smiles, always down for a good bottle of Dom.

"Probably the end of my relationship! Aren't **_you_** happy with your home wrecking, bitchy self!"

Sam closed her eyes and threw her head back on the padded chair and prayed out loud. "Why, Lord? Why? Why me?"

"Maybe because your husband loves you and always has?" Maxie held her glass across the table towards her friend's. "Come on…cheers…you didn't tell me we had more than a splendid photoshoot and a newer, chicer, MAJPI to celebrate!"

Sam opened her eyes and looked at her friend in blatant despair, even as she reached over and clinked her glass to hers so she wouldn't be left hanging. She really didn't need Maxie egging the DespHo on because then she'd never leave! Why, why was Elizabeth Webber her tedious cross in life to bear?

"Laugh it up - I always knew you didn't have much under that blonde bird's nest, and one of these days, you're going to get a rude awakening."

Maxie took a sip of the good stuff and closed her eyes for a blissful moment, blocking out the intrusion. "Mmmm - yum!" Then she looked toward the stuffy nurse with her bloodshot, puffy eyes and quipped, "And yet, I'm not the clingy bimbo Santa brought coal for Christmas. Where's your _fiancé_ , Lizzy…better known as Sam's **_husband_**? I mean, you look a little sadder, even more pathetic than usual…Jason got his senses back, huh?"

Turning from Maxie with a cut of her eyes, the nurse focused her attention on Sam, who was still staring at Maxie, trying to shush the jeery drawl that was sure to set the nurse off.

"Sam, we need to talk."

When it was evident she wasn't going away, Sam side eyed the woman distastefully. "What the hell could you and I possibly have to talk about?"

"My boys, for one. They don't deserve for you to break up their home like this…please, I need a few minutes…" She looked at Maxie pointedly, "…alone."

Maxie held a forefinger up and fixed her face with a puzzled expression. "Wait, didn't she just walk up and insult you right off the bat? Now it's _please_? Is this chick bipolar or what?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Maxie - please leave, so Sam and I can talk like adults!"

Sam finally looked at the woman fully and scoffed. "You are disgustingly rude and distasteful!" She shifted in her seat to directly face her, "First off, my friend isn't going anywhere - she's actually _welcome_ at this table - you're not! Second, you and I have absolutely _nothing_ to say to each other, neither about your family nor anything else, so you can keep walking."

Elizabeth wasn't about to be dismissed while she still had her piece to say. "You have _everything_ to do with my family! It's because of you that Jason hasn't been home in days. It's because of you, my boys have been beside themselves worrying if he's coming back."

Maxie had been happily sipping away at a now half empty glass. "Wow…they escaped from Audrey's basement, and for days too? Doing some actual parenting for a change there, Lizzy?" She looked at Sam with an amused scowl, "Somebody's about to get played, just watch."

Elizabeth singed at the intended swipe. She'd purposely kept the boys home the last two days so they'd know Jason wasn't, and everytime they asked, she laid it on as thick as she could that she was worried he didn't want to live with them anymore. Anything to get them to lay on the guilt as soon as he came back…knowing he'd feel so bad he'd hurt them that he'd undoubtedly stay, if only just to please them. But Maxie Jones had no way of knowing that. Bitch was just always in other people's business.

"Sam please, my boys need their father. You're used to raising Danny alone - you don't need Jason like Jake and I do. Please don't take my little boy's father away from him again."

" _This bitch_!" Maxie smirked at Sam in disbelief at her jab at Danny. "Why don't you try five minutes not needing a man to save you…and see if you can grow a backbone…just once…and Jason Morgan is not their father - even the one you've pinned on him is still questionable at best…poor, sweet, adorable, little kid! Who the hell knows who any of their daddies _really_ are?"

"I know you, of all people, aren't calling somebody a slut, when you don't even discriminate between married and single when you bed _your_ victims." She hated Maxie Jones with everything in her…a real waste of human skin and donor heart.

Maxie shared an amused look with Sam as they both started to find extreme humor in the sad situation. "O-h…score one for Lizzy! She now knows trying to come between a man and his wife is a mortal sin and makes you a reprehensible human being. It made me trash when I slept with your husband…so what does it make you, Lizzy…when you tried to get Sam to divorce hers so you could have _'your time' -_ ** _GAG?_** How's that ring you finally got out of him working for you?" Maxie took a quick sip then pretended to choke on champagne before slumping forward and laughing out, "Oh, wait - you still haven't gotten him to the altar, and he's **_already_** bolted! _Oops_ …better luck next husband, Lizzy!"

Sam couldn't help smiling and shaking her head. Her friend was a damn mess, which the nurse liked to act like she forgets…right up until Maxie bitch slapped her back into reality each and every time.

Just then Carly came over with a fresh bottle and bumped Elizabeth hard and on purpose, ignoring her as she placed it in the middle of the table. "Ladies, I'm sorry, we usually try to ensure our guests aren't bombarded by pests here, but occasionally security gets a little bit lax. I'll take care of it right away."

Sam pushed the bottle back towards Carly. "Thank you, Carly, but Maxie shouldn't be drinking at all, so that's the only glass she'll be having. We're ready to order now though."

"Of course - I'll send your waitress right over…behind pest control. Now, are we celebrating what I think we are? Because Jase and I had one helluva talk on Christmas and I set his ass straight on a few things! I called him yesterday and he's taking time to himself, and we know what that means…hell, that alone deserves two bottles!"

Sam was starting to feel a little bit bad for the suddenly silent intruder, despite how much she couldn't stand her. Why she insisted on jumping in her path every single time she saw her was beyond her. If Liz Webber would choose to never notice her ever again…never have another word to speak in her direction…it would be way too soon for her. "No, Carly - I'm not sure what you're talking about but the one bottle is plenty - thank you though."

"Oh, come on Sam - don't send the bottle back!" Maxie was ready for another and knew she'd get extra thirsty when she was done wiping the MetroCourt floor with the skulking nurse.

"Maxie - no! I know you like to forget all about your heart, but that's what you've got me for. No more! Let's just have a nice lunch and celebrate the start of something beautiful returning, finally! And I couldn't have done it without you!"

Elizabeth watched Carly walk back to the bar with the bottle in one hand and the phone in the other, calling what she assumed to be someone from the first floor to come escort her out. She turned back to the heifers sitting there, gloating about taking Jason away from her, and she'd never felt hate that strong before.

"So you admit it? You're breaking up my family and actually celebrating it? Right in front of me? What kind of woman are you, to wreck the boys' home over a man who's proven he doesn't even want you? Don't you have any pride whatsoever? Jason…"

Sam was exasperated and annoyed beyond belief and it was getting harder to leash the ire when the bitch just wouldn't leave. "Oh, my God… _Jason, Jason, Jason!_ Do you ever talk, or think about **_anything_** else? Do you have **_any_** kind of life outside of clinging onto someone who can't stand that shit? **_Go…a-way!_** You're ruining my appetite and spoiling my damn lunch! I don't **_care_** about you, don't want to hear about Jason, about your sorry existence or your drab, dull, boring ass life, for one more second! I'm trying to live mine over here, so can you **_please_** just leave and **_let me live it in peace!"_**

Maxie broke out into hysterical laughter when Elizabeth's face turned red and she looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, when a quick sweep of the room during Sam's rant, showed all eyes on her. When she gasped out loud and stared straight ahead, the ladies looked to find Jason Morgan standing near the elevator, keenly intent on their table. How long had he been there?

Sam sighed aloud in frustration. "Gotta run to the ladies room - I'll be right back. Order me the garlic shrimp, will you?" Standing up and using her hand to physically push the still pillar out of her way, she brushed past her to walk towards the far corner in the direction of the loo.

Jason was as frozen as Elizabeth was, staring at him in hungry wonder and glee. But he barely registered her bleak presence as his eyes were locked on the most exquisite, dark haired beauty who was moving as though in slow motion away from him, gripping blue eyes that lustily roved her gorgeous figure, from the curls that bounced confident, strong shoulders, right down to the tight, inviting, jean-clad derriere that sashayed the dazed trance that locked him at attention. There was a time when all that was all his, and here he was, now only able to wonder…what was it really like when he had free range? God, Sam Morgan took his breath away!


	17. Chapter 17

Elizabeth practically ran across the room to the elevator, her heart thumping at the sight of him, rugged and unshaven - a sight she'd practically died the last two days without. When she reached him and went to throw her arms gleefully around him, she was shocked when he stepped back, grabbing hold and pushing them slowly down to her side again. Her eyes grew big with devastated wonder.

"Jason! You're alright…thank God…I've been so worried!"

Jason had finally torn his eyes from the corner that took the goddess in soft, buttery blue leather away from him to look down at the woman he'd once thought was his luckiest joy. Where had it all gone?

"Why? I remember calling you so you wouldn't have to."

Brushing off the sting from his hurtful indifference, Elizabeth played the cards still in her pocket, the ones he'd never been able to refuse. "The boys have been asking and asking for you and I had no idea what to tell them. They don't understand, Jason, and I can't explain it myself. They're waiting for you to come home."

Had she always used her children against him this way and he just never noticed it before? What he'd always associated as this huge love for them that she'd incorporated into almost everything with him, was starting to smell an awful lot like expert manipulation.

"If the boys are at home so worried, why aren't you there giving them your attention, instead of here, harassing Sam?"

" _Harassing_? Did you hear the nasty things she said to me?"

"What I heard was Sam tired of what sounded like you stalking her. I also heard you tell her to get used to raising my son alone…get this one thing straight right now… _neither_ of my sons will ever not have me front and center in their lives ever again. Just because I've been living with Jake doesn't make him more my son than Danny, you got that?"

She couldn't believe he was talking to her this way. He'd been gone for days, and instead of coming home missing them and with a new appreciation of what they had together, he was here scolding her? Taking sides against her? What did that bitch tell him?

"We need to go home, Jason…we can't resolve anything here."

Jason nodded at the only thing she'd said that made any sense to him in a long time. "You're right. You go ahead, I'll meet you there." He moved to go in search of Carly but stopped when she clamped down on his arm.

"You're not coming? Jason, this is important!"

He looked down at the arm restraining him and remembered a time when her touch felt so gentle, so sweet…now it just felt restrictive and controlling. Ushering the calm he'd found alone at the cabin, he kept his voice soft, despite his irritation.

"I came here to see Carly. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He was about to move away from her hold when the need to finish it, washed over him. Turning towards the elevator, he pushed the button instead.

"On second thought, I'll catch up with Carly later. You're right - let's go."

Ignoring the triumphant gleam he caught before she looked away to Sam's table and brightened even more, Jason followed her gaze and his heart skipped a beat. The raven knockout was back and so was her beautiful, radiant smile. She was definitely celebrating - he watched her clink glasses with Maxie as the two beamed at each other, and he wished he was welcome at her table to join in whatever was making her so happy. But what really set his heart beating fast was the sight of the tall stranger who'd stopped at her table, he himself all smiles as he placed a bottle of Carly's topshelf French champagne on the table in front of her. Gritting his teeth in suddenly seething annoyance, Jason got on the elevator and harshly jabbed the ground floor button…before he could follow the instinct to storm over and stomp the fool to the floor. Who the hell was he to think he could liquor up another man's wife?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"So, you have room for one more?"

Sam and Maxie looked up at the photographer, who just appeared at their table with champagne in hand, then back to each other, both their smiles knowing.

"Ian! What are you doing here?" Maxie looked at the new bottle in front of Sam and giggled at people bringing them liquor becoming a trend that afternoon.

"I dropped in for a bite and wouldn't you know - lady luck smiled on the two most beautiful creatures in the room with an empty bottle…can't have that." He looked pointedly at Sam and grinned wider. "How about it - may I?"

Clearing her throat so she wouldn't laugh out loud at the face Maxie was making behind the last sip that emptied her glass, Sam tucked her hair behind an ear.

"Actually, this is just a private, girls only soiree…but maybe some other time."

"Oh, come on!" He tapped the cork on the bottle in front of her. "I brought the good stuff…let's keep the party going!" He looked to Maxie for reinforcement, but got only a shake of her head.

"We had this talk already…no!"

Still smiling, Ian raised both palms in surrender. "Okay…I'll go… _this time_." He pointed playfully at Sam, "Definitely not taking no for an answer though. I'll wear you down yet, Samantha." When her eyebrows raised, he nodded his head and corrected himself, " _Sam_." Then tapping the table lightly, he smiled again and left them alone, passing Carly on her way back.

"Who was that?" Carly watched the stranger leave then looked back to Sam for an answer.

"The creative genius who's putting my life back together." When Carly's mouth fell open in consternation, the friends giggled, then Sam continued, "He's a photographer, Carly. He just took some great shots for my business that will send me soaring back on the map."

"Oh, that's what the celebration's about?" Her face actually fell in disappointment. "I thought you and Jason finally talked." She looked at the elevator and scanned the room when she told them, "Speaking of, security said he was on his way up to see me but that was ten minutes ago. I wonder where he is?"

"Came and left." Sam thought of how good he'd looked with the new stubble, then brushed the thought from her mind and answered Carly's puzzled expression. "He left with his…"

"Not for long - believe me when I tell you that." When Sam looked indifferent, Carly sat beside Maxie and shook her head. "You didn't see him, Sam…we talked and I told him stuff I've been dying to say for months. That bitch hasn't been catching him up on anything at all, just filling his mind with fairytale nonsense that never really happened."

"I don't care, Carly. Jason is a grown man. He was buying Elizabeth's koolaide because it tasted good to him…he wouldn't have stayed if it didn't. But like I told that tart - I don't want to talk about Jason. Today, I'm finally getting something back that means alot to me and I couldn't be happier!"

Carly pointed to the bottle of champagne. "You gonna open this one?"

Maxie pushed her glass forward but Sam looked at her sternly and shook her head. "No! Give it to one of your other patrons…with our compliments!"

Their food arrived and Carly excused herself, leaving the two friends to enjoy a quiet lunch and strategize Sam's next career move.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jake dropped the remote control and flew to the door the second it opened, throwing himself into the arms of his father to bury his face in his shirt.

"Dad. You're back!"

"Yah, Jake." Jason hugged his son and squeezed his shoulders, feeling a pang of guilt that he'd made them worry. "I'm always gonna come back, you know that right?"

When he eased his head up and looked at his mom without answering, Jason knew exactly what the look was. Gritting angering teeth, he moved them inside the living room and said hi to Cameron and Aiden, who were still engrossed in the video game until their mother stepped in front of the tv and pressed the button.

" ** _Mom_**!"

"Boys, your dad's home. Remember how much you missed him the last couple days?"

Cameron knew the drill, having played the role several times before. He closed his eyes and allowed his head to fall back against the couch as Aiden ran to join Jake, still attached at Jason's hip. He listened to the chatter until Jason sent the boys back to pick up where they left the game, then headed up the stairs with his mother. He definitely knew this drill.

Elizabeth was nervous entering the bedroom, feeling what was coming in her bones but deciding they were in the right room to set it all right again. First signs of their talk going downhill and she would get them in that bed pronto! Turning to face him as he followed behind her and closed the door, her heart sank at what she saw in his eyes. Shaking her head and pulling the cued tears forward with a blink, she slowly approached him.

"No, Jason! No!"

He didn't want to hurt her, really hated to see her cry…but he didn't belong here.

"This isn't working." He looked down at his fingers where they toyed with the palm of one hand.

"We're going through a rough patch - that's all this is. We belong together and you know that." Her pleading voice sounded weak to her own ears but she didn't care. She couldn't and wouldn't lose him. Not again. Not now.

"Do we?" He looked up and shook his head at her. "Then why does it feel so strained? Why don't you think that you can tell me the truth about my life and I'll still stay?"

"Truth - what truth? What have those people been telling you?"

"A whole lot that you haven't, apparently. Why didn't you give me the full story when you told me about Jake and Sam?"

Anger flared in her at the mere mention of the woman who was always coming between them.

"I told you how she hated our son and wanted him to disappear - said nothing when he did, and later endangered him **_again_** , to suit her sick, selfish needs! What more was there to tell?"

Jason looked at his hands again, then at her eyes to find the truth. "I don't know - how I forgave her years ago when she saved his life by risking her own? How your actions have been just as questionable in regards to Danny's maternity as early back as the day I got shot? How you've tried more than once to get me to leave her…just things you might have mentioned when you instead tried to make me hate her?"

Elizabeth turned her back to him as her panicked mind processed his words. Those bitches got to him alright. She could just imagine the ugly spin they put on things she did for love, to save him from a woman who couldn't appreciate him the way she would. Spinning back to face him angrily, she spat accusations.

"Oh, I bet Sam couldn't wait to fill your ear with her _noble_ deeds…she should've blown to bits in that explosion - it's what she deserves after the hell she put me and my children through!"

Jason stepped further into the room, the ugliness she was yelling drawing him in for a closer look at the woman she never showed him before.

"Sam hasn't said a single word to me in days. And you forget, Elizabeth, if she'd blown up in that building, so would have our son. Are you saying Jake should've died so that you could've been rid of the mother of my son?"

She shook her head in confusion at his words. "What…no - of course not…I didn't mean…" the rest of what he said screamed in her head. " ** _I'm_** the mother of your son! For all you know, Sam's kid is really Franco's! She probably manufactured that DNA test and planted it to draw my poor brother into her sick games." She grabbed hold of his shirt desperately, "Don't you see? There's a reason **_I_** was the one to give you your firstborn, Jason! **_Me!_** **_I'm_** your destiny, can't you see that?"

Pushing her hands away from his shirt, Jason took a step to back from her. "Being the woman who gave me my firstborn doesn't make you the one for me. How many people do you know who's first child is with someone they're not spending their life with, or even wasn't anybody special at all? I've met plenty. Having my child at a time when the woman I loved was having fertility issues caused by a bullet she took because she loved me, doesn't make you special or destined, Elizabeth…it means a condom didn't work and my swimmers were stronger than Lucky's. From what I understand, we were competing in the same race?"

She welcomed the tears back as they streamed her face. "My marriage to Lucky was in shambles. You and I had always wanted to be together and you told me how beautiful I was…you held me close all night, made me breakfast the next morning. You wouldn't have done any of those things if you were pining for the slut who was screwing your enemy!"

Jason nodded and pursed his lips as he walked up to her, leaning to whisper softly in her ear, "You were screwing the same enemy until you found out he was the one who paid Hayden to pull me away from you. Were even married to him before, weren't you?" He moved around her to look at his reflection in the dresser. "So, I was a gentleman that night? Good - I'm glad to hear that I always treated you with respect and kindness - that when you came crying to me that night, I acted like a friend towards another in pain." His eyes sought her where she stood. "Did you, Elizabeth?"

"Did I what?"

"Did you treat me like a friend in pain?" He turned to face her directly. "When you found me heartbroken over the love of my life, _were_ you my friend?"

"Where are these ridiculous questions coming from? Jason, all that happened eons ago - we're engaged to be married, we're raising a family together, planning a future with our boys. What does that ancient nonsense have to do with us now?"

"My thoughts exactly! Whatever slights Sam did you happened eons ago, and everybody else seems to have moved past it and gone on with their lives...not to mention, **_forgiven_**! Everybody but you. You still hate Sam so much that every chance you get, you try to undermine our relationship and destroy what we feel for each other - why? Why does she threaten you so much, even now?"

"What you _feel_? No, what you **_felt_** …and what you felt for that tramp was **_pity_** and **_responsibility_**! You took Sonny's responsibility and made it your own - you never really loved her - you just felt responsible for her and now her kid, because you felt responsible for the first one!"

Raising a stern finger to her in warning, Jason checked the anger that suddenly erupted in him. "I've told you before - Lila was my daughter. **_Do not_** speak about her again!" He took a menacing step forward that had Elizabeth backing up warily. "I can assure you that I loved Sam Morgan with everything in me!What I've felt in those memories of her was nothing short of eternal...d _onot presume to know how I_ ** _feel_** …and you better stop undermining my son!"

"Let's talk about your son - the one downstairs - are you going to turn your back on Jakey now? For who, for Sam again? Are you going to walk way from raising that sweet little boy for a woman not fit to even look at him?"

"I will never walk away from my son!" He saw the relief wash over her and shook his head. "But I am done with this. This isn't working for me anymore."

When she stood there in shock, right before she started convulsing, her upper body jerking with the sobs she sputtered, Jason turned away from her and moved to the closet to grab a duffle. He'd stuffed some shirts in when she grabbed onto his arm.

"Jason, no! Please, no…you can't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

Freeing his arm so he could continue, he told her coldly. "This is the best thing for all of us right now. I can't live here anymore and I need to work on finding out about my life. This living in the dark was the worse thing I could've done, and I should've seen it a long time ago." Sam had tried to tell him. She told him that he wasn't much different from how he used to be and that when he found out about himself, he'd see she was right. If this is who he'd been, this man who allowed himself to be blindly led into causing his wife and son even more pain than when he'd _died_ , he wasn't sad he couldn't remember that.

Jason stuffed a second duffle, ignoring the loud sobs and sniffles being blaringly manufactured for his benefit, as he went from the closet to the bathroom to gather essentials. When he moved for the door, she sprang on him again.

"Jason, please don't do this. I'll do anything you want!" She tried to grab his face to kiss him into submission, but he shook from her hands and stepped away from her.

"You really need to control yourself. What did you think was going to happen when I learned about my life…that it had been so much more than you ever told me about? I practically dismissed Sam and Danny like they don't matter and you let me, even though you knew that they matter more than anything. You were willing to let me go be with Hayden when I was just Jake Doe, but when you found out I was married to Sam and had a little boy with her, suddenly you weren't so very magnanimous anymore! Why…because of who I turned out to be? I was no longer Jake Doe…I was the man you could **_finally_** take from Sam, and I was too stupid to even see it!"

"She doesn't deserve you! Jake and I do!"

"Why? You're better than her and Danny? Why, Elizabeth? I know it's definitely not because I love you more, so why do you deserve to have me and the family that I chose, don't?"

" _YouLovedMeFirrrst_ …"

She sounded like a wet, weepy petulant child, even to her own ears, but she didn't care. He was leaving and she would die without him. She would die if he left her again…for **_her_** _!_

Jason looked at her with pity for the adolescent mind she was obviously stuck in, disbelieving that he'd been so blind for so long.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth."

He bounced from the room and down the stairs, ignoring her anguished, fractious cries, preparing for what would be the only hard part of him leaving. He had to say goodbye to the boys.


	18. Chapter 18

It was harder than he could've imagined. Jake, especially, did not handle the news well and after fighting through the tears and the wails that modeled the production Jason had left behind him upstairs, he finally got through to his son that he'd never leave him, but he couldn't live there anymore. They sat together on the couch, Aiden had run to the arms of his mother who'd descended and stood at the bottom of the stairs to watch, her wet cheeks staying hydrated as the tear production went into overdrive. Cameron had gotten upset at seeing her cry and stormed off to the kitchen. They were understandably confused and agitated…one minute they'd been a happy family planning on a life where they were all together…the next he was leaving and their mother was a mess.

Jason faced his son as he purposely ignored Elizabeth's controlling show for pity.

"I'll still see you all the time and we'll do everything that we do together now, I promise. We'll just be living in separate houses from now on."

"But why, dad? Don't you love us anymore?"

Jason's heart was breaking and he knew it was going to be the hardest thing he'd ever have to do to break their little hearts too, but it had to be done. It would not benefit them to have him stay just for them, to have them witness the unhappiness and tension that would undoubtedly result from an unwanted and uncommitted alliance. No, he had to go. But he had to make them okay first.

"That's never going to change, Jake. Nothing in this world could make me stop loving you - you're my son. I love you and your brothers, always."

"Then why leave? We can be a family like you promised."

"He's right, Jason. Please don't leave! You promised us we'd always be together - how can you do this?"

Ignoring the gutted, weepy voice of the woman he once thought was above petty manipulations and would always put the welfare of the boys first, Jason concentrated on answering his son's pain.

"I'm not leaving you, son. I'm never leaving you, but sometimes grown ups fall out of love with each other and when that happens, they can't live together anymore. It ends up hurting everybody when they force a situation that's no good for anyone. That has nothing to do with how I feel about you and your brothers, do you understand?"

 ** _"_** ** _So now you don't love me anymore?_** **How can you do this to me, Jason? How can you leave our family because of Sam?"**

Her hysterics had drawn from the bottom of the stairs to just behind the couch and he could feel the situation escalating. It was the last thing he wanted in front of the boys, so kissing the top of his son's head, Jason stood to this feet.

"I'll come see you tomorrow, okay Jake? We'll talk it all out, I promise."

Grabbing the duffles from where he'd placed them at his feet, Jason pushed past Elizabeth who'd let go of Aiden and was making an attempt to block his path, her red, puffy eyes and tear streaked face warped with anger and something else he didn't care enough to decipher. That she would try to throw Sam under the bus with the boys showed him what type of hand she was planning to play, but she'd get no ammunition from him to fuel her hateful games. Making his way to the kitchen, he found Cameron nursing a glass of water where he stood looking out the window at the dark night. With a sigh, Jason blocked out the sound of Aiden calling for Mommy, as he leant on the counter near Cameron, to have one final chat before he'd make his exit out the back door.

"You're a little older than the other boys so I'll give it to you straight, Cameron. I'm remembering some things about my life and it changes alot of things for me. It doesn't change how I feel about you and your brothers though - you believe that, right?"

When the teen nodded without breaking his blank stare out the window, Jason's heart hurt for the pain he knew he was feeling. He remembered before he moved in with them how Cameron seemed to feel responsible for his mother's happiness and was bent on being the man of the house. Jason knew he was feeling like that again now, and sorry as he was for it, he couldn't let that make him stay. Too much was happening, too much was at stake. Signing on for a life where they all walked on eggshells and made do with what they had, rather than make room for what they needed, wouldn't work out well at all. Goodbyes hurt…but they were sometimes necessary.

"It changes how you feel about my mother, though, right?"

The quiet query was on the mark, but Jason would never make him question his own feelings for his mother. Just because he didn't want a life with her didn't mean he didn't want her children to have a happy one and continue to see her in the best light.

"This is not the right situation for either of us. Your mother will be happier too…in a little while she'll see that it was the right thing for everybody."

"I wonder who's next?"

"What do you mean?"

Cameron looked down to the sink where he rested the glass and sighed, his young shoulders sagging with the weight of what Jason gleaned from his next statement, to be his mother's choices.

"Every year she gets this urge to find us a new pops. Apparently it was your turn again."

" _Again_?"

"It's not the first time she tried to give you the job. But just like last time, you wanted your other family more."

"That's not what this is, Cam."

"No? I heard my mom telling Laura that no matter what she does or how hard she tries, you always leave her for Sam. Sounds like it to me."

"Listen to me. I can't control what your mother thinks or how she behaves…she's an adult. But I don't want you boys blaming Sam for me leaving…she doesn't know anything about it."

"You were bound to leave anyway. My dad left, Ric left, AJ left…they all said they'd stay but they didn't. She'll move in somebody else pretty soon, until it's your turn again. You all take turns - you leave for a little while and then you come back."

That had to be the saddest thing he'd ever heard, and as Jason watched the young teen turn from him and make his way out of the kitchen, he felt a realization that this had been brewing for some time. Something had always felt off for him in the house - like it was never quite home! He'd chalked it down to his general state of unease that was an embodiment of the constant blankness that was his unknown life, but now, when he pulled open the kitchen door and stepped out into the cold night, the sense of freedom that washed him was almost giddying! It felt like liberation from a life where he'd been trapped within walls of confinement and mindless duty, the uninformed promises breaking away from him like shackles, to set him free. The feeling was familiar. Had he been imprisoned before this?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam pulled up to the grey building on the outskirts of the city, flanked on all sides by snowy banks and leafless trees that would keep it hidden at the height of their plumage. The secluded location lent itself well to the privacy boasted by the institution that held discretely to that privacy she'd attempted to unveil from home. When she got nowhere over the phone nor by email, she planned the overnight trip to New Hampshire.

As she rounded on the front door, Sam looked around and at once was reminded of a visit she'd paid to a similar institution many years before…when the man she loved worked tirelessly to give her answers about her own adoption. With the help of Stan's expertise, Jason had traced her records and had taken her himself to Maine, where they uncovered her shocking relation to Alexis Davis.

The front door swung open just as she reached for the knob and Sam had to step quickly to the side in order to avoid a collision with the racing young woman tearing through, running blindly to get away. Leaning her head to find the source of her dismay, Sam stepped back again when she was followed closely by a lanky young man who soon caught up to her on the snow covered lawn and gathered her weeping form in his arms. Already the place was proving engaging!

Twenty minutes later Sam was on her way back to the SUV, without any specific information whatsoever, but armed with what she came for nonetheless. Just as she'd expected, she'd been greeted with the usual "We can't release that information. We pride ourselves on securing the privacy of our clients," and she hadn't expected anything less, but client information wasn't exactly what she came for. Finding out where they kept it, was.

She drove to the nearby hotel and checked in, then checked on Danny at her mom's, before she got comfortable. She'd be able to get a few hours sleep while she waited for the agency to shut down for the night. Now that her keen observation skills, used during a fishing conversation with the receptionist had located where in the building they kept the records, she'd be in and out and on her way back to Port Charles by midnight.

It was just after eleven when Sam pulled up and parked near the trees, where she turned the SUV off and watched the building for ten minutes to make sure there was absolutely no activity about. When she was sure she was alone, she exited and pulled the gloves on that matched the rest of the midnight-black, second skin she'd donned for the job. She neared the side entrance, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline she got from being covert, eyes darting around to double check she had no company. She loved these old towns…the need to preserve the integrity of their history usually led to very lax security for the most part, making her job so much easier. When the lock easily gave way to her constantly improving picking skills, Sam entered quickly and looked for the alarm panel she'd noted from earlier, only to find that it was unarmed!

She extinguished the tiny flashlight and stood perfectly still, allowing the shadows to cover as she listened keenly for any sound from the dead silence. It was one thing to appreciate Lady Luck giving her one so she wouldn't have to engage the handy device she'd brought to override the system, but it was another to believe without hesitation, that they'd forgotten to arm it altogether. Although she hadn't seen another car outside, someone could still be there. A tense minute passed during which she didn't move an inch, and then she heard it. Footsteps above her on the second floor and whistling! Someone working later than she anticipated? Not likely - it was almost midnight! Security Guard, perhaps? Deciding it didn't really matter, Sam made her way around the corner and down the hall to the room she'd identified earlier as the file room, making quick work of that lock as well, as she kept an ear on the sounds above. If he stayed up there long enough, she'd get what she came for and be gone before he ever knew he'd had company.

Turning the flashlight back on, Sam swept the room and neared the huge cabinets in the corner. Who the hell still kept paper records? She'd seen the receptionist using both forms earlier that day - paper files next to her computer and the electronic archive she accessed when she took a phone call in the middle of their conversation. More than likely, they'd converted to electronic files in recent years and were probably still in the process of scanning the paper ones to combine the two. Some of these old world towns had to be dragged into the new century kicking and screaming, as they honored and revered the heritage and principles they were built on. Some accepted the new, only when they found themselves getting left behind as the world transformed everywhere around them.

Like she suspected, the twenty-seven year old files were among the paper. Dammit - she was really hoping to be able to get a quick scan to a flashdrive and be out, but then again, she wouldn't have to worry about having to break passwords to get to the information either.

"You just have to be quick, Sam." She whispered beneath her breath as she picked the lock on the cabinet she identified with the client's maiden name. Finding the file within seconds, she laid the pages out on the desk and frisked the tiny camera from her pants pocket to start shooting. Dammit - holding the flashlight in one hand and using the other to capture the images and turn the pages was taking time. If only she could turn a light on…but she couldn't risk it when she knew she wasn't alone.

She'd just finished capturing most everything - birth certificate, footprints, medical records for both mother and baby, application and background check for both adoptive parents…when she heard footsteps just outside the door! Shit! She'd stopped listening for her companion as she concentrated on capturing the most vital documents. As Sam eyed the door quickly, she noted the crack beneath it, just as she heard the clinking of keys entering the lock.

Switching off the flashlight, she hurriedly dashed behind the tall server that was the only item in the room not pushed all the way up against the wall, thanking her stars that it was taller than she was. Instantly the room flooded with light that blinded Sam for a moment, as she listened to the footsteps that drew closer inside, just before she looked over and saw the open file she'd left scattered on the desk. Closing her eyes and giving herself a mental kick, she registered the footsteps approaching the desk, where he'd no doubt observed the open file as well.

"I know you're in here. Come out with your hands up or I'll plug you right where you are."

Shit! Damn _paper_ files! It had been so long that she'd had to deal with them, she'd forgotten to grab everything when she moved! Sighing softly, Sam set her brain to work on the current situation. Can't do anything about that shit now.

"Okay, I'm coming out. I'm not armed."

She stepped slowly from behind the large silver unit to find the stout guard with his gun held out in one hand as he rested the other on the flashlight in his belt. His dark eyes danced over her as shock registered on his round face and twitched the shaggy beard and mustache into a warped smile.

"Well, I'll be damned. What's a pretty little thing like you doing breaking and entering?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders as she summed up the size she could use to her advantage. She was sure she was quicker than him…she just had to get him out the way of the door at his back. He'd edged to the door after checking the open file, and that gave him the advantage. That, plus the Beretta pointed at her chest!

"Just got lost that's all." She didn't really care what she told him - he wouldn't buy anything at this point, so she just needed to keep him talking and get him away from the door. He was armed but she was quick.

"Lost? On your way to where, exactly?"

He kept drawing closer to her and Sam slowly stepped her way to the side of him, keeping her hands neutrally raised to show him her palms. She shrugged her shoulders and blinded him with her brightest smile, "The ladies room?"

His face hardened and he waved the gun in front of her. "Okay, cut the crap and tell me what you're doing here? This is private property and I've already called the cops, so start talking."

"Since when are security guards packing? You guarding states secrets in this place?" She eyed him dubiously, "What exactly goes on behind these doors? You know what, you're right - I'll wait for the cops." Sam put her arms down and rested against the edge of the desk, hoping her relaxed form would lower his guard.

She was right. As soon as she relaxed, so did he, lowering the gun only slightly, but relaxing his shoulders and his voice as he shook his head at her.

"That's not how it works! I ask the questions and you answer. Who are you?"

She pursed her lips and shrugged, "Me? I'm nobody!"

"Real cute!" He waved the gun at her, "Let's see some id!"

Smiling slyly, Sam locked his eyes then looked down at herself comically. "Does it look like I can fit much into this outfit?" She looked back up at him, seeing what she'd wanted unfolding when his eyes followed hers to sweep her all black, tightly clad, voluptuous body. The drawl was seductive as she continued to relax against the desk, watching him draw even nearer, slowly. The lascivious smile that curled his lips turned her stomach but gave her what she wanted.

"You have a point there. They don't make them like you around here, that's for sure. You came up from…"

Before he knew what hit him, Sam had railed up from the desk, stepping quickly to the side of him as she whirled and sent her foot flying out to connect to the gun, sending it flying across the room to slide between the rows of boxes in one corner. Without hesitation she was through the open doorway and racing for the exit, hearing him behind her but sure the portly guard would not be able to keep up. She threw the side door open and hit the lawn running, alarmed the next minute to find herself sliding on the way to the ground when she hit an unexpected patch of ice. Quickly bending her knees and digging her heels to regain balance, she narrowly escaped going all the way down, instead allowing the ice to slide her boots across the patch that ended in powder at the edge of the thicket.

"Come back here! **_Stop_**! You little…"

Sam listened to the waning shouts as she tore down the drive on her way to the SUV, unlocking and starting the engine with the remote starter before she jumped in behind the wheel. She took one last look to his still approaching form that kept chase, puffing hard as his steps slowed and she tooted her horn, backing speedily to the main road, where she threw the SUV into gear and sped towards the highway.

"Goodnight New Hampshire!"

By daybreak she'd be back in the comforts of her home, making her son eggs and teddybear waffles for breakfast. The thought brought a warm smile to Sam's face as she calmed the adrenaline still shooting through her and steered the SUV towards home. She'd really missed the rush she got from working a case, the excitement of thinking through the unexpected popups, surviving the human errors. Speaking of, by morning they'd figure out what she was after by the file she'd left out - a rookie mistake she chided herself for, but not a costly one. She had the information she needed to track down the adoptee, and even if they contacted her first, that wouldn't stop Sam from finding her now. But she'd need to warn her clients first thing in the morning, just in case someone from the clinic was working with their new found daughter and tipped her off too.


	19. Chapter 19

So what if she was uninvited and stood out like a sore thumb among his friends, at a party thrown by his _best_ friend? It was New Year's Eve…she had as much right as any of them to ring in the new year in fine style at the best party in town! No way was she going to stay home and cry herself to sleep again tonight, drowning in vapid thoughts of the two of them here together, laughing it up, living it up like they hadn't just trashed her whole life. Besides, there was bound to be someone here she could hang all over to show Jason what he was leaving behind. He would lose his shit to see another man touching her, wanting her, worse…

The second the thought rushed to her mind, there he suddenly was, entering the ballroom, all six foot three, fine specimen of him looking twice as ragingly hot as she remembered, dressed up in black tux and a crisp white shirt with the open neck that showed his no-tie preference. He was looking her way! Quickly turning her back before his eyes found her staring, she latched onto the first warm body standing in front of her, grabbing him by the shoulders and landing her lips squarely on his, pressing hard, soon adding the occasional soft moan for effect.

"Jase! It's almost midnight - I was starting to think you really weren't going to come!" There were lots of things new about this Jason, but his hatred for all things social was still very prominent.

He turned to meet Carly's warm smile as she made her way over to give him a hug, just before planting a glass in his hand. "Scotch, neat - top shelf for my best friend, always!"

Smiling softly as he found his eyes darting back to where she was listening intently to something Griffin was saying, Jason absently touched his glass to Carly's. "Cheers!" He took a swig and allowed the smooth malt to glide his throat and wash warmly across his pounding chest plate that had triggered at the first sight of her.

Carly ran her hand appreciatively across one tuxedoed shoulder. "You look so handsome - I wasn't sure you were going to dress up if you came tonight - so glad you did." She waved an arm around the room and beamed, "Do you believe this turnout? Everybody's here - it's even bigger than last year's."

"Just what I need - huge party!" He swallowed another generous mouthful of the warm, brown liquid and this time, his gaze in her direction was not as fleeting. She had him glued.

"Did you see Michael on your way up? He's not here yet either." She knew he'd made the effort for her and she loved him for it. He didn't want to be here, but he came…and she was going to make him happy he did.

Shaking his head, no, Jason's eyes fell on a movement that blocked his view when Elizabeth grabbed hold of some man and began robbing him of breath.

From the minute he'd gotten there, he'd felt her. Before he even saw her, his striking, poised goddess in the black and silver form-fitted gown that hugged every delicious curve and covered everything from the neckline to her arms, to where it sculpted to the floor, he'd known she was there. When he roved the room till he found her talking to Griffin and Lucas near the terrace, he'd been transfixed to the spot, glued to the gazelle line of her neck when she laughed and threw her head back in delight, the tidy ponytail swinging behind the glistening silver clip that held it in place, as she raised a glass to perfect lips, then lowered it and grabbed Lucas' arm to bend towards him in laughter at something funny he'd said. She was radiant! She was beautiful! She was so damn sexy! Next second he found himself fighting hard to leash the spiraling anger, exuding instead a quiet fury that burned from his eyes and the tight pursing of his lips.

"Have you seen Sam, yet?" Carly scanned the crowd, "She was just here with…oh, oh!"

Jason was already gone, the anger charging through him as he stormed across the room feeling the urge to hurt somebody. The son of a bitch had the nerve to be that close to her? Who the hell did he think he was? Within seconds that felt more like hours as he raced to get to her, he was finally at her side, the place he longed to be more than any other…fighting a blinding itch to break the neck of the man that had reached out to touch her so familiarly.

Kissing, kissing…any second now she would feel the poor soul being yanked off her to get pounced at…she would have to intervene quickly to prevent him getting plumed for besmirching her honor…kissing, kissing…okay, he would certainly have made it to her by now - what was taking so long?

Venturing to open her eyes for a quick peek, her heart plummeted to the floor and shattered into pieces all over, when she found he'd not only stormed right past her on the lips of another man, but the anger she'd imaged on his face wasn't about her at all. She was not the woman he was yanking another man off, not the woman he looked like he wanted to murder another man over, not the woman he was completely captivated with…she was the woman left over here kissing…

"Franco?"

Franco Baldwin was in a daze. He'd barely wrangled an invitation to the NYE party to be at in town, by tagging along with his father, who'd managed to score an invitation from his old friend Bobby Spencer, who he was sure had no idea who'd be the plus one. He really hadn't been expecting much from the evening at all, except it was something to get him out of the house and hopefully usher in a better, brighter, less judgmental new year with people learning a bit more tolerance for his existence. Not much at all…until he turned around after swiping a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, to find himself on the receiving end of one very wet, crushing kiss. And it wasn't even midnight yet!

"Elizabeth! I had no idea!"

Wiping the man from her lips with the back of her hand, Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously, distrusting the knowing tone of his voice.

"No idea what?"

"No idea you had the hots for me! All you had to do was ask - of course I'll go out with you."

"What? Franco, please - I have a fiancé - don't get any ideas!" She flashed her engagement ring while brushing the hair back from her face.

Looking over his shoulder before turning back to her and raising the glass to hover near his lips, he asked, "You mean the man getting ready to start world war three over his ex-wife - with the fool who's been drooling after her all night long?" He took a sip, then tilted his glass in her direction, pointing to the puppy dog look she hadn't been able to stop giving the man behind them, "Kinda like that?"

Offended, Elizabeth tore her eyes from the trio near the open terrace, angry at the way he'd just ignored her, ignored the man she plastered herself to just for his benefit, ignored everything around him that didn't have something to do with the tart and the latest man caught in her deadly Venus trap.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Okay." Franco sized her up and he felt sorry for the rejection he could see her feeling, being himself, very familiar with the emotion. "Would you like to dance?" When she looked at him and was about to say no, he glanced at the Morgans again and jerked his head in their direction, "Just because he missed the matinee doesn't mean you can't still air the main show. I'm down if you are."

Elizabeth looked anxiously from the offered hand to Jason, who was still not so much as glancing in her direction, and she decided a tweak to her plan was in order. He hated Franco! Didn't remember everything that happened with him, but seemed to sense it anyway and couldn't stand the sight of the man. _Nobody_ in that room would make him crazier. It was perfect - he would see them together and feel the need to save her. Smiling slyly and resting her hand in the one held out to her, Elizabeth was finally able to calm her racing heart. Before the night was over…hell, before the stroke of midnight, even…she would have her man back! So what if Franco Baldwin had to die to make it happen?

"Sam…you okay?"

Jason addressed her, but faced the fool who was about to get tossed off the balcony on his head. It was the same obnoxious jerk from the other day, standing way too close to her now, after using his finger to brush her chin in a familiar way that repeated itself, even after she'd moved her head from his touch the first time. Jason had wanted to break his arm all the way from across the room. The second Griffin and Lucas had disappeared, the moron had openly hit on her. Again!

"Jason!"

Sam's heart skipped several beats at his sudden appearance. He was gorgeous…filling out the black tux in that _Jason_ way that always made her swoon…showing off broad, masculine, capable shoulders that she remembered to be rigid and toned to the touch, effortlessly reminding her how Jason Morgan had always worn the hell out of a suit!

Jason glared at the man who stood his ground like he was too obtuse to take a hint. "You make a habit of touching women against their will? You know there's a name for that, right?"

Sam knew that low, deadly tone well. He was fuming but keeping a lid on the fury that needed to be squelched quickly.

"Jason, this is…"

"I don't care who he is, Sam. He touched you, you flinched, and he did it again." Eyes narrowing with cold intent, Jason told the man coldly, "Don't do it again!"

Ian's head lifted in defiance, even as his back ran with a cold shiver down the middle. "This is a private conversation and Samantha can speak for herself, from what I've found."

"Ian, can you excuse us, please?"

With a weak, tiny smile, Sam pleaded with her eyes for him to leave. The last thing she wanted was to create an escalated situation at a party in town…her reputation already required a hard hat, and as much as she was in the market for publicity, this wasn't it. Watching the man smile and walk away slowly, eyeing Jason who hadn't shifted the icy gaze from his stare, Sam took a deep breath and faced her son's father.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Jason was surprised by her cold tone. She was still barely speaking to him, but he wasn't wrong to intervene with some clown who was drooling and touching her, very obviously against her will!

"That guy was out of line, Sam. Don't tell me you're angry I stepped in?"

"Actually, Jason, it is pretty damn annoying! First of all, I can take care of myself. Handling one drunken, harmless frat boy is something I can do in my sleep - I don't need you to run to my rescue."

The edgy coolness in her voice hurt his heart. Had he left her to fend for herself often? Didn't he used to defend her against shit like this before, or was she just refusing his help now on principle because she was mad?

"I'm not trying to step on your toes, Sam, but when I see the mother of my child being assaulted, you can bet I'm stepping in."

"Assaulted? That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? For your information - I had just warned Ian that if he touched me again without my permission he'd lose the finger, so you see - I didn't need you to _rescue_ me."

Jason was getting irritated himself. Why was she defending the guy it had been more than obvious she didn't want touching her? Was he wrong? She wanted the guy's attention? Was that it…he'd interrupted her date? Chiding himself at the last thought, Jason remembered that he knew her better than that. Even if he couldn't remember the woman he'd married, he remembered the one he'd befriended. Strong willed, independent, blunt, and fierce to behold. Sam Morgan didn't play games.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I'll let you handle it next time." When his sudden change of tone caught her off guard, Jason used the moment to gain an inch. "Truce? Can we step out on the terrace for a few minutes…there's something I need to talk to you about." When she hesitated doubtfully, he added, "Please?"

Glancing up at his soulful, pleading eyes, Sam nodded in agreement and walked in front of him through the door he pushed open, leaving the warm ballroom to step into the cool, calm night. Jason grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter before he joined her, swapping it for the almost empty one she held. His eyes roved her face and figure appreciatively as she took a sip from the fresh glass.

"You look beautiful tonight, by the way. That dress is…"

The tone of his voice sent a heat up the back of Sam's neck when she pictured his seeing her the way his tone implied. They'd never been the couple to make events like this one a must, but on the occasions when they had dressed up and taken on the town together, she'd always felt like the most beautiful woman in the world, from just one look from blue eyes that pooled and drank in every drop of her. She was seeing that same look now.

Moving closer to the railing and downing another sip of bubbly amber, Sam reminded herself to put no stock into what she thought she was seeing. He doesn't remember what you do, Sam. Who you're looking for is not there. When his throat cleared, she realized he'd moved to stand directly behind her, barely a breath away from her ear.

"How's Danny?" He knew how Danny was. He'd spoken to his son before bed to tell him goodnight and how much he loved and missed him. Danny had gotten a kick out of telling him he'd see him _next yea_ r.

"Danny's fine. He's home with the sitter, who just texted me actually. They've turned in for the night."

"I'm sorry I missed our date on Christmas." When she looked at him for an explanation, Jason smiled. "Danny, I mean. I dropped the ball on Christmas sledding, so I have some making up to do. There's a new batch of snow on the hill behind the cabin - would you mind if I took him there tomorrow? " He moved to the side of her, resting his back to the railing so he could see her beautiful face in full glory.

Something in his eyes made her uneasy. "The cabin? You've been back there?" Why did that fill her with hope?

He wasn't leaving her eyes…beautiful pools of brown that could drown a man and give him life all in the same minute, had him mesmerized.

"That's kind of what I've been meaning to talk to you about. That's where I've been staying."

It had been one long, bleak, cold week where he'd found himself constantly hoping she'd stop by on one of her random visits and find him there…maybe they'd have been able to talk some more and uncover more of his past. But she hadn't ventured near the place - hadn't taken a single one of his calls nor returned a single one of his messages. He'd seen Danny every day as promised, but his son was always with one of the Davis women or his mother whenever his visits were planned. She'd purposely avoided him all week…even a couple random stops at her office had proven futile, as he'd missed her each time.

"You moved out of…?"

She didn't have to finish - he'd started nodding as soon as she started asking. Oddly, the information didn't give Sam the feeling she thought it would have. Did it really matter that he finally got some inkling of how wrong he and the woman had always been together? Did she really care that the house of cards he'd insisted on building around himself was crumbling like the weak, trembling foundation it had been erected on? Not one damn. But she cared that he was undoubtedly in pain - she'd never wanted that for him, ever - but she didn't care where he didn't live anymore.

"So, what now? What do you plan to do?"

"Get my life back." When she had no reaction to that statement he added softly, "I don't know exactly what that's going to look like, but I do know I want to be focal in my son's life…I need him, Sam!"

"I've never prevented you from having that, Jason. It's always been your choice how much or how little you saw Danny. He adores having you back, and I would never try to keep you from him."

"I know. Thank you for that - it means more than you know."

"You don't need to thank me. What you need is a plan of action. You can say you want your life back all day till the cows come home, but you have to actually _do_ something to make it a reality. What are you going to do?"

Jason lowered his eyes to the hand holding the empty glass. "Will you still help? Will you still fill in the blanks?"

Sam looked at the handful of stars trying to break through the cloudy night. "I'll still do what I can - I told you I would. But I think you could also benefit from something a bit more…professional."

"You mean therapy?"

"Don't scoff - you've always mistrusted it but it was because of a few very _specific_ people. Not all of them are like Dr. Thomas."

"Dr. Thomas?"

Sam nodded as she recalled the man who drugged her on the roof of the hospital in his desperate attempt to get away from Jason, after he'd gotten caught trying to use Michael's therapy to his own sick advantage.

"He helped Michael after AJ kidnapped him all those years ago. Later, when he learned that Michael actually saw him kill AJ, he turned what had been progress for Michael, into a circus of using him to point the finger elsewhere. You never trusted him…he was one of your doctors after your first brain injury - the one that left you with permanent memory loss. You'd hated him from then."

"Why did I send Michael to him if I didn't trust him to begin with?"

"Because of me." Shy brown met blazing blue. "Michael needed to talk to someone, to help him through AJ's mind control and the simulation back into his life. Dr. Thomas actually helped him to open up and trust us again…until he needed to save his own ass and tried to use Michael to do it."

He could see how. One look into her brown depths and he knew she could talk him into hell and he'd gladly let her lead him there. But that wasn't Sam Morgan's style. The compassion she felt for people shone true in everything she did and he instinctively knew that if she'd talked him into going that route, it was because she strongly believed in its ability to help his nephew. Must have worked too…he'd seen her with Michael and the man was nothing short of enamored with her. The mutual respect and love was evident to anyone who spared if even a glance.

Not being able to tear his eyes away from the second skin she wore for a dress, or the fresh view of her strikingly beautiful features that were gratefully bared by the ponytail, Jason was giving her much more than a glance.

"Have I told you yet how beautiful you look tonight?"

Heat rushed her cheeks and Sam turned from him again, praying the cool air had masked any trace of color that may have exposed her to him.

"Yes - you have. Thank you…you don't look so bad yourself."

The arriving waiter was a saving grace - swapping empty glasses and quickly disappearing back inside where they could hear the beginning of the countdown to midnight. Both heads turned to see the crowd gathered with all eyes facing the bar, pairs of excited couples anxious to welcome the new year with new gusto and hope.

"Nine, eight, seven…"

Elizabeth went frantic, pulling away from Franco on the dance floor as she looked from one face to the next in desperate search of the one she wanted to her lips on at midnight. When he was nowhere to be found in the room, she flamed that she hadn't seen him reenter from the terrace since he'd disappeared with the woman. What was he doing with her for so long? All that time spent in Franco's arms and he was't even there to see it? Fine - she'd go find him then! She'd just veered in the direction to the terrace when a hard grip sank into the flesh near her elbow.

"Oh, no you don't! You leave them alone!"

Yanking her arm from the vice with a slight wince, she faced the blonde amazon who never minded her own business.

"You can't tell me what to do, Carly. Please move out of my way."

"You're getting nowhere near Jason and Sam - even if I have to throw you out in your tacky, puke-green, streetgirl threads, myself. They're having a good time together and you will _not_ spoil their night!"

"Four, three, two…"

The room erupted into cheers and blasts from noise makers and patrons, and everywhere around her, happy couples pasted themselves to the one they loved and sipped champagne with glowing smiles of promises of a wonderful year ahead. She watched as Carly was swung around to find herself on the lips of her husband…and there she stood…alone…sad…rejected, in the sea of all that happiness and reverie. When had this become her sadness?

With Carly distracted, Elizabeth used the moment to rush to the terrace unimpeded, only to be stopped dead in her tracks when the sight before her sent her stomach into lurching revolting.

He was holding her face so tenderly, like glass, strong lips that used to set her on fire, resting on the corner of the woman who stood there, her hands clasping tightly to the champagne flute, her eyes closed to what Elizabeth knew was the magic of his silky touch. She couldn't breathe, couldn't look away from the electric connection the two struck together…two people seemingly alone in the middle of the sea of celebration, lost in a private one of their very own.

"You shouldn't be doing this to yourself. Come with me, come before they see you."

She felt the touch of someone being kind to her, allowing her feet to move when he prodded her away from the sight she wanted to gorge from her eyes, the sight now stuck in permanence on her psyche, the sight she'd never be able to unsee.

Jason could taste the sweet, sweet essence of her, even as his lips brushed only the outside of her own. Drinking from the trough struck up from the touch to her soft skin, his body blazed from his lips all the way through, and as his hand still cupped her chin, his eyes that stayed open as to not miss a thing about her, studied the closed lids of hers as he heard the breath that shorted on intake. The electric charge shooting through him retraced its path to jump from his fingertips and jolt her delicate chin, and only then did she pop open those beautiful browns to lock with molten blues that were in open, unabashed, naked awe of her.

"So beautiful." The whisper left his lips when the thought formed in his brain, and he needed his lifetime to run a course with the magic of that one electric, shivering, blissful moment, suspended in her personal space. "Happy New Year, Sam!"


	20. Chapter 20

_If Franco's gone, why not let him be gone, Jason…please?_

 _Sam, you know it's not that simple._

 _Yah, but it can be. At least for tonight - it is New Year's Eve._

 _I know, but we've never cared about the holidays._

 _I know but it matters to me now. I just want to have one night where we forget about everything and it's just us…together. Are you there?_

 _Yeah, yeah I'm here._

 _Come home, Jason. Come home to me._

 _I want to start the New Year off right too, but part of that means making sure that you never have to deal with Franco again._

 _Okay - all I'm worried about right now is spending some time with you. I want to lay in bed with you and hold you and talk to you about today, tomorrow, and the next day…_

 _I know, but I gotta finish this._

 _Can you let it go, Jason, please - just for tonight?_

 _I can't._

 _Please?_

 _I can't._

 _Please. I mean, in a couple of days, if you want to go after Franco then that's what you do, but I'm just - I'm asking you for tonight. That's it! One night. I want to kiss you at midnight, I want to be in your arms on New Years - please, Jason. Jason?_

 _I'm on my way home._

When she shivered beneath his touch, Jason removed his jacket and draped her delicate shoulders, guarding her from the cold, not ready to give up their quiet time together by going indoors. Every part of him throbbed from being so near her, and he couldn't decide if the trouble he had breathing came from her closeness, or from the memory it just triggered in him. His hands lingered of their own accord and his body brushed her back, his mind racing to piece the puzzle together.

"What did Franco do to you?"

Sam heard the soft question that she'd dreaded for a long time, knowing fully well that any day that he remembered or asked, that Franco would die and he'd be imprisoned. She always knew that if he asked, she wouldn't lie…they'd promised each other years before and she would never go back on that promise. She'd give him the respect of the truth, even at the risk of hurting him…but why did he have to ask tonight?

"I was wondering why you suddenly got so quiet." She turned her head to study the tensing of his jaw and the hard line it had assumed, and she knew. "You just remembered something didn't you?"

"Did I make it home in time?" When her eyes narrowed in query he continued, "I'm guessing it must've been our last New Year's Eve together before I…" He trailed off, hating each time the subject came up to remind him of the reason for the darkness he now lived in daily. "We were married - I was wearing my ring." He moved around her so he could see her face clearly, watching for the emotions she'd be unable to hide from his scrutiny. "You pleaded with me to come home - said you just wanted to be in my arms at midnight." He watched her eyes drop to the ground to hide from him, and his head ducked to find them again. "Please tell me I wasn't idiotic enough to make a habit of leaving you…of making you have to ask for my attention?"

Shaking her head, Sam still refused to meet his gaze, needing to hide her own. "It was't like that. We loved spending time together - there was nothing else like it for either of us. We just had a _lot_ going on at the time and you were having a really hard time dealing with…"

"So I left you alone? Why? Why would finding Franco be more important to me than being home with you?"

She turned away from him and if he didn't know better, he'd swear he saw a tear before she did.

"Happy New Year, you two!" Molly burst through the door and hugged her sister. "Sam, I need you. Kristina's had way too much champagne and she's getting ready to leave with this guy she barely knows…will you please talk some sense into her?"

"Where is she?" Sam started moving to the door then paused to hand Jason his jacket back. "I need to get my sister home, Jason - thanks for the talk."

"Do you need some help?"

"No, we can handle it. Show me where she is Molly!" She gave him one final look then left, leaving Jason to stare after her receding back. He had no doubt she could get her sisters home safely, he was alot more concerned about the memory that had unraveled before him, leaving him puzzled to the true meaning of it. Something about Franco Baldwin never sat quite right with him. There was underlying hatred from the moment he'd met the man and it had gained momentum with each passing day. Standing by himself on the dimly lit terrace, he fought hard to remember more. Every encounter he'd witnessed between Sam and Franco had screamed strained…she hated him - that much was quite clear. He felt the same way she did and without reservation. But why? And why did he share that sentiment so vigorously? What had the man done to her?

"Aren't you even going to wish me Happy New Year?"

Jason closed his eyes and sighed heavily. This was Carly's party and they weren't friends, so why was she there?

"This is not a good time."

"It's never a good time for us anymore." She grabbed his arm and held on desperately, wriggling one finger to get his attention. "Do you remember when you gave me this? I'll never forget the way you got down on one knee and asked me to share your life…what happened to that man who couldn't be more in love?"

"He was as unreal as the fairytale you painted of our past. You want to tell me something useful…tell me about Franco Baldwin."

Bristling from the slight about their relationship and lifetime love, she clung to the fact she'd at least succeeded in making him jealous. Her evening spent in Franco's arms wasn't a waste afterall…she could see it in the cold darkness in his eyes when he spoke the man's name.

"What about him? I've been lonely since you left - Franco is a friend who's had time for me and the boys." Hope sprang to her breast when Franco's name seemed to have the exact effect she'd hoped. He hated hearing it, was spitting nails to get his hands on the man. He was going to fight for her!

Jason couldn't decide if he should leave her to her delusions or try to get her to tell him what he needed to know. He could see quite clearly what she was doing and if he had the time he'd probably be irritated she thought him so easily manipulated…then again, it was apparently not the first time. But right now he had bigger questions that required more important answers.

"What did he do to Sam?"

Elizabeth's heart sank lower than it had all evening and when a voice sounded behind them she was already spiraling to the lowest depths.

"He raped her!"

Two sets of eyes looked to the new entrant, Michael stepping out to the terrace with both hands in his pockets as he eyed the duo. "Sorry, Uncle - it's not something Sam would like to have discussed between us like this, but I know she would never tell you. We saw the blind rage it sent you into and she would never want you to go back there again."

Jason was frozen to the spot, his voice trying to sound to ask Michael to repeat himself, to make certain he'd heard him correctly…but nothing came. Sam had been raped? Somebody had done the vile things to her that no man had the right to force upon anyone?

"He didn't rape her, Michael - you know that! We were all there when he showed us the tape of what really happened…she was drugged - she knows he didn't do anything to her!"

"Didn't do anything to her? With all respect, Elizabeth - he drugged and assaulted her - how can you brush that off like it was nothing? You know as painfully as I do, that rape is not just about physical brutality, painful as that is! It's also psychological and very emotional - it's about power and control, and that sick freak gets off on sticking himself in her face every chance he gets. How can you excuse any of that?"

"That's not what I'm doing Michael. I'm sorry you got hurt…"

"Don't do that! Don't buffer me with meaningless platitudes when you know firsthand what Sam went through, what I went through!"

Jason was stone still…the more his nephew raged, the more his mind saw. She was happy…he'd finally succeeded in keeping that gorgeous smile on her face for days on end. She even liked the silly little necklace he made her with the shell he wanted her to wear close to her heart, the one that would give them a little extra luck to make them a family of three very soon. But it didn't last long. As he stood there, Jason could feel the pain that tore through him at the whimpering wails coming from their shower. His beautiful, magnetic, incredible wife had been reduced from the bubbling new bride he'd marveled at for two glorious weeks, to a crumbling, weeping mess on the floor of their bath. On her honeymoon! He had not only found them, but had done the most despicable, unforgivable, unthinkable thing one could do to another…he had violated her…robbed her of her sense of security and the blissful euphoria he hadn't been able to see enough on her. His wife, the love of his life, his source of peace and tranquility, had been viciously relieved of her own. Franco Baldwin had taken her smile, and with it, her happy sanctuary.

"Michael, it's not the same. What happened to you and me was appalling and unforgivable, but what Franco did…he didn't really rape her. And besides, he had a brain tumor, a medical condition that made him not responsible for what happened. He had no control over his actions so he cannot be held accountable for them."

"Michael…" Jason touched his nephew's arm to get his attention. "…Did she leave with Kristina?"

"No…Sam went down with them but Lucas was going to drive Kristina and Molly home. Sam went home by herself."

With a pat to his shoulder, Jason walked past Michael and around Elizabeth. "Thanks, I'll see you soon."

"Jason! Jason, wait!"

But he wasn't waiting. There was nothing for him to wait for…he needed to find her and make sure she was alright. He looked with annoyance when Elizabeth jumped on the elevator with him.

"I don't have time for whatever it is you want."

"I don't accept that! Just like I don't accept that you no longer care about us, about this!" She held her left hand out with the ring that still glistened in place. "You can't possibly have forgotten us so quickly."

"Why not? You've forgotten the devastation, the torment and degradation you felt when somebody brutalized you and left you battered and broken, so why not? You're the only one who gets what you want, is that it?"

When she looked at him with shock, Jason added, "You told me what you went through with that experience and how it almost killed you! So, how exactly can you so callously brush off what happened to Sam and demand she forgive that filthy son of a bitch?"

"She didn't go through what I went through, Jason. It's not the same!"

"It isn't? Did Sam invite that pig into our cottage? Did she invite him to touch her, to invade her privacy and our bathroom, our bed? My wife was happy…I'd finally, finally made her as happy as she made me for the longest time…and he strode in and took it from her in one ugly swoop…and you think Sam should just push that aside because he found a medical excuse in his head to justify the devil that lives in his soul? The pain she went through after what he did to her, what he did to our marriage is any less than what you felt at that brute's hand?"

"Stop it! I can't listen to this anymore…Sam, Sam, Sam! It's always goddamn Sam! What about me? What about my needs and what I want for a change? Why can't I matter to you too?"

"You care enough about yourself for all of us!"

With her brother's help, Sam got her inebriated sister in the car and waved them off when they pulled away from the valet. Lucas would see them safely home and she'd soon join her son in slumber. She was going through her purse to find her own ticket when the voice she loathed to hear sounded mockingly behind her.

"Happy New Year, Sam! I see Jason dumped you tonight too. Well, don't feel bad - he did the same to Elizabeth, and no sweeter angel walks this earth."

Whirling to face the despised man and everything he stood for, Sam maintained her cool. "Why are you always creeping up on people like the bottom feeding eel that you are?"

"Touchy, touchy! I'm just making conversation while I wait for my car and it's a free lobby. Besides, that's really no way to talk to the man who almost fathered your son!"

She couldn't help it. Between the snotty, mocking tone of his condescension and his callous jab at the pain he'd carelessly unleashed on their lives, Sam's arm shot out to connect a fist with his face as if of it's on volition, stunning the brute into momentary, shocked silence.

"Don't ever talk about my son! Don't ever speak another word to me, or I swear I won't be responsible for what I do to you."

Fuming anger burned within her and threatened to consume, so, not wanting to spend another minute in his presence for fear she really would kill him in front of the MetroCourt in the middle of town, Sam stormed back inside the hotel to find Maxie and Nathan had just gotten off the elevator and were having a quiet conversation with Lulu and Dante Falconeri. She was about to join them when the elevator opened to reveal Jason trying to flee his chains, but having no luck when she clanged closely behind. Finding it almost comically amusing, Sam watched from the side of the lobby as the duo exited the front door, and something about the way Jason stood still and just watched Franco Baldwin get into his car, the cold, cold way in which he flashed off Elizabeth Webber, who's answering move was to rush to Franco's car and hop in the front just before he pulled away. Just _something_ in the way he held his head and how the fingers on each hand seemed to dance at his side, told Sam the full story. Franco had been marked.

"Hey, Sam! I thought you left?" Maxie approached her friend smilingly on the arms of her new beau after saying goodnight to Lulu and Dante.

"Hey, Maxie. I'm about to - I just needed…" her voice trailed when she glanced from them back to the front of the building only to see Jason's SUV had arrived and he was pulling away from the curb. "I'll see you guys tomorrow - Happy New Year!" She ran to the valet and shoved the ticket in his hand, "Hurry, please!" The taillights of the SUV were all that she caught as he sped away from the hotel. Pulling out her phone, Sam dialed his number but he would not pickup. Oh, God, she was right! He was on his way to kill Franco!

Franco turned on the street that would take him to Elizabeth's house, then looked over at her jittery form next to him. "What's the matter with you - why do you keep looking behind us? You really think he's coming after you, don't you?"

She turned back into the seat and blushed, the tiniest bit ashamed that she'd been so obvious. "I don't know what you're talking about - I'm not looking for anybody!"

"Yes, you are. You thought he was going to get jealous you got in my car and come after you - that's the only reason you're here…despite the wonderful time we had together tonight."

"What? That wasn't real - don't get any ideas, Franco…there's nothing happening between you and me. I want my fiancé back - that's it!"

"Sure it is."

As tight as she'd held to him all night he knew there was more to it than that. She might've been putting on an act for Morgan's benefit, but her body responded to his touch. He leered at that body now…it's alabaster complexion calling not only for his touch but for the permanence of canvas. What would it look like, lifelessly still, drained of spirit and unmoving, posed like the one in New Orleans - that one was his favorite! She was never discovered - he'd had her for days in that secluded little house to himself and he must've done six renderings of her in different positions and settings. That set now hung on the walls of a private collector who shared the same keen eye. There were so few. He veered a sharp left and sped up.

"What are you doing - my house was just down that street!"

"Relax - I want to show you something!"

"What? No, take me home - it's late and I'm tired." When he sped up further, still going in the wrong direction, she panicked at something new she saw on his face. "Franco, I'm not kidding - take me home right now!"

She'd been good company all evening but she was starting to work his nerves. It wouldn't be long now though…he would shut that worthless mouth forever and make her into the timeless form she was best suited for. She'd thank him if she knew the immortalizing perfection that was upon her.

Elizabeth started to panic. Something strange had come over him - he was like a completely different person. Gone was the charming man who'd let her use him all night to further her agenda, and in his place stood a hard, cold stranger who chilled her blood.

"Franco, I need to go home to my boys - please, where are you taking me?" She hadn't meant to sound shaky and afraid but he was making her so.

"Someplace an artist like you can appreciate. We're almost there…relax."

The sudden appearance of the black SUV that cut them off caused him to slam hard on the brakes, sending Elizabeth, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, to fly straight into the dash where her face smashed hard into the surface. His own belt secure, he braced himself as he crashed the brakes to the floor, screeching to a halt, just an inch from the side of the black SUV.

"What the?" Before the question had barely escaped, his door yanked open and strong, muscular arms were pulling him from the car, but the seatbelt held him in place. His heart racing, he suddenly found the power to move his arms to try and defend himself, but the appearance of a knife gave him pause.

Jason slashed the restricting belt and grabbed the son of a bitch by the front of his shirt with both hands, yanking him from the car and tossing him unceremoniously to the ground, where an urgent need sent his shoe crashing into the side of his face and then his gut. Grabbing him again, Jason yanked him up off the ground and slammed him into the side of the SUV, then spun him around to smash his head against a window, simultaneously pulling his tie from around his disgusting neck to bind his hands behind him.

"Jason. Jason, it's okay - he didn't hurt me. You don't have to hurt him, I'm fine!"

Elizabeth had stumbled from the car holding her aching head as she leaned weakly against the front. Just like always, her knight in shining armor rode to her rescue, slaying dragons that would've devoured her whole. She knew he still loved her! Where had he just appeared from?

Her weak voice barely registered for him as Jason finished securing the tie and dragging the creature to the back of the SUV. He was just about to shove him inside when headlights hit them and garnered his attention. He heard the screeching of stopping tires then the door open and slam shut, rapid footsteps running in his direction.

"Jason! Stop!"

"Sam!"

It was her. Beautiful, incredible Sam, who had done nothing to the pig to warrant his hands all over her, who had dropped into his sights simply because of how much she was loved!

"Go home to Danny, Sam…I'll take care of this. He's finally going to pay for what he did to you!"

"No, Jason - not like this! Not tonight."

Sam placed a hand on his arm and pleaded with her eyes that locked his. "He's filth that deserves to be taken out like the trash but we can't do it like this." Sam's heart was beating fast out of her chest at the sight of him, every bit the Jason she knew, in protective mode and caring not for himself but about the hurt caused to someone else. She knew this Jason. She knew the man who cared so much that it boiled into an uncontrollable anger when words failed him to express it any other way. He was hurt and angry and she had to save him. "You can't do it like this. Please…let him go."

Elizabeth wanted to vomit. He had barely noticed her presence but the instant the harlot showed up, he was all ears? She watched disbelievingly as he pulled Franco from where he was half trussed into the back of the SUV to toss him harshly to the ground, then vomited in her mouth when he pulled the harlot into his arms and…was he sobbing?

"I's sorry, Sam! I'm so sorry!"

Jason felt his shoulders heave and shudder, and the urge to hold her close washed him completely. Thanking his lucky stars that she didn't pull away, he pulled her tighter into the hug she was allowing, which somehow sent his sorrow soaring. She'd been violated because of him - the pain he remembered from her weeping on the shower floor crashed through his heart with a force of its own, and Jason found himself on his knees before her, his arms crushing her tightly to him as the tears spilled openly into her black and silver dress. She'd been hurt because of him, targeted because he loved her, and he continued to hurt her now. "Please forgive me, Sam! Please!"

Elizabeth couldn't believe her eyes! She had never seen him like that before. This was about what happened to the woman, that she caused on herself? Hadn't she sunk herself into the mob life and behaved like one of them, accepting everything that went with their sorry ride or die lifestyle? So why did she get to cry when that very life came calling?

"Jason, please take me home." But they weren't even listening to her.

Sam clasped his head to where it rested against her belly, lending her body as a shield to encase him as he clung to her. He very rarely ever got like this, and never in front of anyone but her. He was hurting, feeling the pain of what they'd worked through and forgiven, but that he had no recollection of. She just had to let him feel it and work through it again…but she would help him. She would help him see again it hadn't been his fault. The blame he'd taken on wasn't his to carry - she'd help him place it squarely at the feet it belonged. He was the father of her child and the love of her life…she'd never callously ignore his pain…especially when it was pain he didn't deserve.

"Jason - I want to go home. I need to go home to our boys!" Elizabeth added the edge to her voice to break through whatever it was that was unfolding in front of her. She couldn't stand the way he was baring himself to the woman…is that how it was between them? When Emily and his father died _she_ was the one he shared his pain with. When they thought Jake dead, they'd held each other up with their shared grief only a parent could feel, and she thought they were as close as two people could ever get…but none of those times had he ever bared himself like this! After what felt like hours, he finally rose to his feet and they shared a long, lingering look as they appeared to speak privately with their eyes.

Sam felt the energy that pulled at her through his eyes and she knew everything was far from over. She may have saved Franco from him tonight, but she knew he really wasn't saved, because there would be other nights, nights when she wouldn't be anywhere near. She looked to where he still laid trussed up on the ground, bleeding from his nose, over to where the pathetic little lamb leant against the car, saved from the slaughter she'd blindingly laid for herself, and Sam shook her head.

"You should take her home. She looks like she's about to pass out from shock."

Jason shook his head in return, reaching into the pocket of his dress pants to toss the SUV keys to the hood of the car near her, never breaking eye contact with the woman who saved him.

"Get yourself home."


	21. Chapter 21

"Jason, she's holding her head - she could have a concussion and really shouldn't be driving. Take her home." Sam could tell from the angle of the vehicles that the stop had been very sudden. The woman probably hit her head.

Elizabeth grimaced at more than just the low throbbing at her temple. "I'd rather not be diagnosed by an out of work PI, thank you very much!" She grumbled further beneath her breath, "Like you're the one here with the medical know how."

"I'm not leaving you anywhere near this creep, tied up or not, so let's go!" Jason took Sam's arm gently and turned her towards her vehicle.

"We can't just leave them here like this."

He opened her passenger door before he answered, "He's lucky I don't cut his throat still, and she's a big girl. If she can jump in with a psychotic rapist with her eyes wide open, she can get herself the few miles home."

Sam watched him close her door then walk around to the driver side and climb in next to her, where he threw the SUV into gear and backed up, not sparing one glance in either their direction, but she couldn't help looking back to see the lights of his SUV come on when it started up behind them. They were silent at first, until his last statement replayed in her mind, bringing her eyes to search his face for confirmation when the reason he was suddenly on such a deadly rampage became clear.

"How do you know what he is?"

Her quiet whisper reignited Jason's somewhat calming blood back to boiling, when his mind conjured the image of the brute touching her against her will. When the fury threatened to send him back to finish what he'd started, Jason took a deep, stilling breath.

"Carly and Sonny let it slip on Christmas…but all they said was he made us believe Danny wasn't mine. I left before they could give me details - I wanted to get to you so you could tell me what really happened. I thought maybe he falsified some records, misled us into thinking one thing, when it really was another…I didn't dream he'd…Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew what would happen. Franco would turn up dead and Danny and Jake would lose you all over again…he's not worth that Jason."

Silence fell between them again. It helped that she was next to him…something about her was so very soothing to his spirit…even when she was the one deserving to be heartened.

"It was Michael who told me the rest tonight. That man did what he did to you, and he's been allowed to roam around town, grinning in your face, invading your personal space at will - why? Why isn't he locked up or dead?"

She heard the renewed anger as his temper flared again and Sam knew if she didn't keep him calm he was likely to turn right around and run the SUV over Franco where he left him.

"For awhile we all thought he _was_ dead…you thought you took care of him before you…but he showed up after and was cleared of any wrong doing because of his medical condition. We can't touch him, Jason."

"Oh, I can touch him!"

Jason's hands gripped the steering wheel, baring knuckles that yearned to beat the slick, sarcastic grin the man usually wore in their presence, and he knew what he'd known all night…bastard wouldn't be grinning for long.

"No - you have to promise me that you'll leave him alone. You can't go after him now."

He looked at her incredulously, "No! No, Sam - I'm not going to promise that! I can't - _NO_!"

"If anything happens to him after tonight you'll be the first person they come for. Elizabeth is a witness to your hatred of him - so are any number of people who saw you take off after him from the party. You can't touch him, Jason…not now!" She turned in the seat from where she'd shifted to face him and eased back in place, adding softly, "Not yet."

Jason glanced at her then brought his eyes back to the road. She was right of course. He had to be smart about when and how he made Franco Baldwin disappear.

"I thought Sonny was supposed to be some kind of brother to me…how could he let somebody who hurt my wife in that way, live and remind you of it everyday? Why didn't he take care of him?"

"I have no explanation for why Sonny does anything he does. Maybe he thought it was too risky - maybe it didn't matter since you were gone, I don't know. I've thought about it a few times - about doing it myself…but I have Danny to think about. I couldn't afford to let Franco take anything else from him or from our lives…especially after we thought we'd lost you."

He pulled up outside the cabin and sat with the engine idling, staring straight ahead of him as he processed her words. She'd had to be everything for his son for so long - mother, father, guide, interpreter - instilling confidence and doting out love and encouragement, teaching empathy and care. It was fully time he shared his part of that with her.

"Can you come in for a few minutes? I'd really like to talk."

She knew she shouldn't. There was something about the place, something about him in the place that had always proved her undoing…she really shouldn't. But he'd gotten a shock tonight and he was still reeling. It was time they talked.

Jason got the fire roaring and made them coffee, handing her a cup where she sat on the sofa before he sat on the edge of the fireplace to face her. She'd kicked off the six inch stilettos and tucked her feet beneath the throw to keep them warm. He took a sip and admired the slender fingers swarming the cup as she did the same.

"Why don't you hate me, after the way I've been acting?"

Sam lowered the steaming cup and allowed the warmth to spread through her as she studied the hurt in his somber blue eyes.

"I did for awhile. It stung…I won't lie, it did! I thought you were a low bastard for not even trying to find out who Jason really was, what he meant to all of us and why. I did't need you to try to be him again, but I needed you to try to know him. To try to know Danny." Sam looked down into the shimmering liquid, "But I get it too…it was too much for you. Jason…he - _you,_ were a giant among men. Not many can live up to the way we see you. I got that it intimidated you to find out who you really were."

Her words shamed him. While they loved and missed him, revered and honored him, he'd been busy denouncing them. The life he thought he wanted had been in his sights and it didn't include guns and goons and an unhealthy alliance to a man he couldn't stand - who'd tried to kill him. It didn't include the deadly skills he'd learned he possessed - he'd wanted no part of it, no part of the former him. He'd thought that was the man she'd loved and that was the man she'd married - he couldn't be him, so he couldn't be hers.

"I'll be honest - you all made me sound ten feet tall and irreproachable - that's alot for a guy to live up to. I knew I'd end up disappointing you when I couldn't be _your_ Jason Morgan again, so I thought why not leave things the way they were? Everybody was happy with who they are now, so best leave it all alone." He was studying his coffee too. "Boy, was I wrong!"

"A part of you has always longed for the peace and quiet you found in your new suburban life, it's why it was so easy for you to stay put. You don't exactly _love_ the mob way of living but it's what you know, it's what you're best at…but what you don't get about my husband is that he was so much more than just _mob guy Jason_. He was Sonny's enforcer and felt an obligation to him and his family, yes…but he was such a giver! _YOU,_ were such a good man! You have no idea how many people you've helped, how many lives you've saved in this town. You didn't go looking for trouble and you spent a _lot_ of time protecting the people who live here."

Jason smiled, despite the tension still in him. "What, like some avenging angel, warring on the side of good?"

Sam smiled too, the light joke snapping the tension that surrounded the heavy conversation that was long overdue.

"Laugh, but you kinda were. Bad guys knew to stay away because of you and good guys wanted you in jail but still found themselves seeking you out for help to keep this town safe. Nobody has been able to move drugs or guns through here for decades, because you and Sonny live by certain standards. Law Enforcement hate you but they respect that about you too." She chuckled out loud. "You're like the backup police in town, only you solve the crimes and catch flak for it because you're better at it than the real cops. It's hilarious!"

She had the most radiant, captivating smile!

"I thought it was living on the edge that you loved about me…I had no idea it was the policeman in me."

The smile disappeared when she sought his eyes. "I loved _everything_ about you and I was happy with whatever life you chose. When we met, you were a danger junkie with a penchant for speed, and nothing thrilled me like jumping on the back of that bike and holding onto you tight. If that's who you wanted to be forever, if that's what made you happy…then I'd have been happy too. If you wanted to go straight and live life as an ordinary Joe…that would've made me happy too. It was never _what you did_ , Jason - it was always _who you were_. I was the happiest I'd ever been with you, and I was ready to live whatever life you wanted, as long as we lived it together and you were happy doing it."

She was unbelievable. How do you love someone like that? How do you align their needs, to make them paramount to yours? Jason knew instinctively he'd felt the same about her! How could he not? With someone so bare and open completely to you, how could you not give them the very same? He could feel it coursing through him as he looked at her and felt the force of each word. He'd felt the exact same way about her.

"Why? What could I have ever done to earn that kind of loyalty?"

"You loved me! When I had no idea what the word really meant or how it could affect everything about you, you gave it to me unconditionally, without strings. Nobody had ever had the kind of faith in me that you did. You encouraged and trusted me to be a better person that I didn't even know lived inside me. You gave me room to sprout my own wings and it taught me how to soar…you gave me life."

"Come on, Sam - how could I do all that?"

Sam laid the coffee cup down on the table at the edge of the sofa and met his eyes again. "I told you before about my past as a con. Everybody in this town knows that about me and everybody in this town, treated me like one. Everybody but you. You never used my past to define me and you made sure I didn't use it to limit myself. Jason, you encouraged me to believe in myself and my decisions. You showed me the kind of respect I'd never known from anybody in my life before you - you have no idea how much that helped me grow. With you, there was no judgement, no condescension, no ridicule…I was an equal for the first time in my life and you made sure I felt your love. Despite people telling me you didn't know how to love or to show love, I'd never felt anything stronger in this world. You have no idea what that does to a person, how much it builds confidence and self assurance. I had no idea how much I needed that…'til you gave it!"

There it was again. There was that love he'd never known possible until he'd heard her talk about her dead husband. To be loved like that? Jason put his own cup to the side and leaned forward to brace his knees.

"What about you? What did you give me? Because if you felt like that about me, if I was giving you all that, it must've been because I was getting what I needed too. So what was it, Sam…what did you give me?"

She was tingling. The blazing blues were piercing through her as he waited for an answer and Sam could feel the pattering of her heart that threatened to leap from her chest. The way he was looking at her, like he was trying to see the very core of her.

"That's a question only you could answer."

The whisper escaped and the need to put space between them sent her sinking further into the sofa, but his gaze only followed. The room was suddenly hot and stuffy - she needed air! Tossing the throw aside, Sam leapt to her feet and hurriedly crossed the room to push the window open, breathing deeply when the cold night air slapped her face and gave the calm she sought, a calm that was ripped from her in the next second when she felt him, rigid and strong, standing at her back, so close she could feel every muscle that rippled his thighs, his arms, his chest! He was so close but moving closer still to brush the tip of her right ear with lips that singed when he whispered, "I know you know. I can feel it, Sam…just like I can feel you now." His hand reached up to softly switch her ponytail from where it rested on her shoulder, to fall down her back when his whisper continued, "You and me - we were one, weren't we?"

Jason couldn't stop himself. He knew he should give her space but he'd been compelled to move to her, to touch her, to caress any part of her she'd let him. Her movement to the window had echoed like a mating call, entrancing him to cross to her, to feel the closeness of her sexy, alluring back, to brush the slender arms he could envision stroking life into him to set him on fire for her. He needed to touch her. His forehead rested to the back of her head and the sweet scent of her shampoo enticed his arms to surround and hold her close to his chest. When she rested against him and laid her head back, he felt like he'd just arrived home, the feel of her soothing and hot to every inch of him she touched. He rocked her softly in place as they stood there, eyes closed to the night and to the world, encased in one of their own. He could die just holding her.

"What happened to us, Sam? Tell me how we got here - how I let myself get to a point where I don't get to hold you like this everyday?" Jason could hear the sound of his voice crack, and the lump that built in his throat appeared from nowhere.

"I wish I knew, Jason. For some reason you and I, even at the peak of the immensity of everything we feel for each other, always seem to mess it up."

"But why? Is there a pattern? Is there a reason, because I have to tell you, Sam…" he took hold of her shoulder and turned her softly so she would see his face, "The way I've been feeling about you for sometime now - I've never felt anything this intense in my life." He shook his head when his words to him sounded like a line, needing her to know that they were anything but, "Granted, I don't have much to compare it to - nothing past when I woke up in the hospital last year, but everything I've felt since then, everything I thought I knew…what I've been feeling when I'm around you, when I see you, when I think about you…which has become every minute of every hour of everyday…when I remember snippets and bits from our past together…it takes my breath away! I loved you more than I knew possible…so tell me, please…tell me how I could ever have been stupid enough to let you get away from me? Tell me…please tell me!"

Sam could feel her eyes tearing up at the impassioned, raw, emotional break in his voice and she longed to make his hurting stop. He was so confused, so lost and in pain, and he had no way of making sense of it, when his mind refused to cooperate and help him see. The torture that streaked his features and crashed his eyes tore at her heart, and when she reached a hand to stroke the side of his handsome face, it was the face of her Jason she saw…her lost, broken, beautiful Jason who needed her now.

"I'll help you, Jason! You're not alone…you've never been alone! We've gone through this before…you lost your memory before and you found your way back…you'll find your way back this time again, I promise. And I'll be there, I won't leave you alone, I promise."

He couldn't breathe if he didn't hold her! Crushing her soft, beautiful body to him, Jason held her so tightly she felt like an extension of where he stopped. That her tiny, tiny frame could give him so very much…so much warmth, so much empathy, so much understanding and compassion, so much care! Where did she keep it all? No wonder he loved her as fiercely as he's felt he has! He was such a fool!

His arms tightened of their now volition and it was as though he was trying to ooze her in. She felt so good, she smelled so good…Jason lifted his head from where it crested her neck and allowed his cheek to rub softly in the lift, bringing his lips to trail the path that brought him instinctively to the corner of her lips, sweet, succulent, juicy lips that called his own, and before he knew it he was tracing softly from the corner and across.

Sam's head was swimming. She'd felt the slow burning trail that drifted across her cheek to land on her lips and when the teasing tip of his tongue brushed the outside, they opened as of their own accord to invite him in, the tip of her own greeting with touch, then a dance, when he entered with a full, strong sweep. She heard his groan and felt the crush of her body when he pulled her closer still, eliciting a moan from the bottom of her soul when the man of her world swept the corners of her mouth with the sinful tongue that had transported her to the mountain top again and again and again and again! The floor had fallen from her feet and she was suspended in air, floating on clouds and drifting, even as she felt the strength of the hold that engulfed her.

Oxygen, she needed oxygen…and just when she'd pass out from her refusal to break his lips to breathe, he gave her life with air when his lips left hers to burn across her chin and char their way down her neck, a neck that had been bared of the dress that had covered all of her. Her dress, when had it disappeared from arms and chest and back now kissed by cold air from the wind…

Jason was on fire! He couldn't stop…knew he should but he couldn't…her body was like wine that had him drunk at the very first sip, hooking his lips that couldn't leave her flesh an inch untouched, unkissed, unloved…freed from the hinderance of a dress between them when he zipped the long line down her back and bared her to him. She was cold…he had her near the window still. That wouldn't do. Shrugging his hands free of the shirt she'd unbuttoned for him, he swept her beautiful, voluptuous goodness from the floor, allowing the gown to fall as he turned and strode for the bed, his lips once again sired to hers in desperate need as she clung tightly to his neck and writhed beneath his kiss. She wanted him too. Much as he died for the feel of every part of her on him, she sought him on her as well, lending life to the fever ravaging his brain and tearing through every molecule in his body.

He laid her down and hovered, again breaking from her lips with a reluctance but need for air, his eyes falling upon the most desirable thing he's ever seen in his life. He couldn't help himself from trailing the full, generous breasts with peaks that called for his lips…to the tight, flat stomach that dove into the thin strip of lace that covered her gorgeous mound, hovering over toned legs that went on and on. His eyes trailed back to find her own, a swimming sea of brown that gave nectar to his soul and pulled it right into her.

"God, you're beautiful!"

When her arms reached up he was already in descent, the need to claim her lips once more paramount to all. His hand sought and found a pink peak to tug softly, molding into a full fist of soft, velvety breast that called his lips to leave hers in search of their treasure. Rolling his tongue to harden and delight, Jason pulled in a nipple then a tasty mouthful, groaning when the fill to his mouth tore a moan of desire from her throat. The taste of her left him thirsty for even more, enticing him from one breast to lave the other with equal fervor. When she moaned again and wrapped his leg with her own, his hand roved her stomach in search of southern treasures, finding home inside panties that led to the soft strip covering her juicy lips, inviting him inside to part the folds that hid the wet, wet core of her.

Sam could not stay still. His mouth upon her breast burned equally hot to the finger inserted within her, first one and then another, stroking a hot trail in and out that left her panting, writhing, wanting more and more of him. Grabbing his head with both hands, she whipped her lips to plaster forcibly to the strong ones that soon took over their kiss, sending his tongue crashing between her lips to sweep inside her caverns, while his fingers drove her into a frenzy. Her hips bucked his hand again and again, sending hot heat to her belly to burst her wide open when the orgasm crashed through her, as he kissed her hard.

Jason couldn't take it anymore. He needed to be inside her! Hopping from the bed in a second that felt more like an hour away from her, he tore the dress pants and boxers from his body, the only remaining barriers to what he needed to live! His eyes would not tear themselves from her. She was a goddess, splayed out for his worship, and when he joined her back on the bed, her legs spread in invitation for him to happily slide within. The feel of her hand that circled his throbbing organ as she guided him home was like nothing he remembered, and when she rubbed him against the juiciness of her entrance, eyes that never left hers questioned her one last time, even as his breath held, knowing he'd die if the answer was no.

Sam couldn't look away from the husband she'd missed in the blue eyes that scoured her now. She knew this man. She knew this look she'd seen a million times, the one that relayed everything he felt for her, every promise he'd made to her, every need he needed fed by her. He wanted her. He saw her. He loved her! So her answer was yes…a million times yes! A billion times yes, to the pulsating bigness of him waiting anxiously at her entrance, to the glorious feel of his push against her walls when she guided him home. Her eyes closed of their own accord and she felt the touch of his forehead when it descended to hers, both stilling to the tight fit of her body that adjusted to fit him to her, closing tighter still when the beautiful movement of hips that sent him in and out of her, stirred an ecstasy she hadn't felt in years and years, a euphoria that he alone brought with the deep, deep strokes that reached the very core of her and slapped the hidden spot he found like a roadmap. She felt the tears that seeped beneath closed lids, when her mind met her heart and sang the sweet song of their love…reunited, rejoined, returned to her. His sweet, sweet loving returned to her.

Jason's mind was fogged. Where was he? He'd been here before with her…that place where your heart met your soul and fed your mind to give everything to the one you adore. To give her every molecule that makes up your body, with every stroke that took you to the center of her where you live the only life that matters. She was part of him, not separate…she was the heart of him, the mirror of every piece that ever meant a damn. She was home. When his strokes took him to the meat of her and frenzy grew in his need of her, Jason buried his head to her neck and groaned, feeling his back tighten as he grabbed both her arms and pinned them above her head, the fever sending him to drive and drive, deeper, deeper into her, fueled by her moans of pleasure that bounced the room and strummed his ears, he couldn't get enough…he couldn't _give_ enough.

"More, Jason - MORE!"

Her insides were wet and her tight, tight grip gave him life! He drove hard, fast, harder, as she wriggled her hands free to hold him tight, her nails raking down and across his back when he reached down to grab her knee and lift it to his chest, never breaking stride as she writhed beneath him in tandem with each glorious thrust into her that sent him whirling.

 _"_ _JESUS CHRIST, SAM!"_

She was blazing through him - he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't live without what she was giving! Writhing hips met him thrust for thrust and burning lips scorched his skin where she kissed and sucked in succession where they landed to his neck, his chest, his ear, his lips. When the orgasm tore through his back and tightened his sac, his head dipped to desperately find a nipple as she whimpered and bucked against him in answering orgasm.

 _"_ _Yeessss, Jason, Yeeeessss! Yessssss!_

Sam felt the bed disappear from beneath her and the room and everything fall away completely, when the orgasm crashed through every part of her and tightened every muscle in her body. Flashing, blinking lights went off behind tightly closed lids and her arms and legs locked in place around him, then loosened with the rest of her when the bed reappeared and she sank limbless into it.

As he came down, Jason could only lay there. He wanted to shift his weight from her but he couldn't move a single, solitary muscle. He desperately needed a minute.

Sam could finally breathe again. His weight felt heavenly atop her, keeping them close, connected, and she didn't want him to move an inch - not yet, not yet.

Finally getting the ability to think again, Jason rolled to the side and brought her into the crook of his arm, his gaze falling to search her face, trying to find confirmation that her earth had shaken even a tiny little bit of a fraction as his had. Her eyes were closed but he thought he read satisfaction in the makings of a smile. Good. If she'd felt any part of what he just did, he had the tiniest chance.

"Are you okay? Was I too rough - did I hurt you?"

Sam smiled, eyes still closed. "I'm perfect!"

His eyes roamed her contented face, the beautiful angles of which he could study for the rest of his life. "You have no idea." He rubbed her arm where his draped around her body and caressed the soft hair at her temple. "That was...incredible!"

When she smiled again and mumbled, "Mhm!" he smiled too and let his eyes drift closed, his drained body relaxing in the sweetest sleep he'd had in years and with the siren in his arms, whose lullaby was the sweetest music to his heart.

Sam was just about to drift off to his soft, even breathing when her eyes suddenly flicked open. Wide! What the hell did she just do? Turning her head slightly, she studied his handsome, chiseled face in peaceful slumber, and her panic grew. What the hell did she just let happen?

Waiting another minute to make sure he was fast asleep, she eased carefully from within his hold, stilling when he stirred and reached for her shifted form. When he was settled again she slid from the bed to dash about quietly, gathering her belongings and getting dressed, eyeing the bed furtively the whole time to make sure he hadn't moved. Three minutes later she was easing down the path from the cabin, greeted by silver streaks of the new day that crept across the sky to usher in the new year. Stopping at the end of the trail, she bumped her head against the steering wheel again and again, chastising herself for doing such a stupid thing.

"Way to go, Sam! As if everything isn't already complicated enough - sure - go right ahead and mirk it up more with sex!" Incredible, earth shattering, one of a kind sex, but still!

Sighing, she eased up off the brake and steered the SUV towards home. When had she ever made anything easy on herself?

 _ **A/N: I couldn't help it - I just desperately needed a JaSam love scene so I had to toss it in! Wasn't really going for it just yet but it came out, so now we divert a little bit...soapy! Thanks for reading!**_


	22. Chapter 22

Empty. Cold. Jason's eyes drifted open to fall on the reach of his hand that had moved to hold her the second his brain stirred from sleep, but the spot where the hot, incredibly flexible and brazen lover had enticed him to sleep was now bare. Eyes that opened and combed the space to find her belongings missing, closed again when his brain sighed in acute disappointment. He didn't need to call for her…she was long gone!

His eyes opened again when he suddenly wondered if he had dreamt it all! The soft, velvety feel of her against him, the cushioned, spectacular fit he was inside her, the glorious explosion from their bodies intertwined together…had it been real? When he rolled to the pillow next to him to find the sweet, enchanting scent of her still there, he breathed easy again and released the held breath. She _had_ been there! They'd had indescribable sex together…but now she was gone.

A quick gaze at the window showed him it was early - the dawn was just rising and the new year had started. Boy, had it started! Sitting up and throwing his feet over the side of the bed, Jason sat for a minute to contemplate the amazing start of what began as the best year he'd known since he woke up in that hospital. If the night was anything to go by, it was bound to be more incredible than he had any right to. But she had left…why would she leave after what they'd shared? Had it only been good for him?

The remembered sounds of her raptured cries echoed his ears, and the clasping gyration of her voluptuous body strummed every surface of him still, and he knew it had been equally as phenomenal for her too. No…she was running. And he knew why! But there was no way he could let her get away now!

Jason took a shower, where he allowed the water to run cool when thoughts of her joined him there, picturing how he could've taken her there again and again, if only she'd stayed. He got dressed for the day and made himself strong coffee, eying the clock as he forced himself to wait for a decent hour to pop up on her doorstep. He had a date to pick up his son and bring him back for sledding, which would give him the perfect opportunity to see her too. Suddenly remembering how she made avoiding him an art form when she wanted to, he decided it was better to show up right away, before she had the chance to escape. He was just about to call a car when a knock sounded at the door.

"What are you doing here?"

He heard the coldness in his own voice and thought it was probably a tad harsh, but it seemed his natural response to the man.

"Early bout at the gym this morning, you know - get a move on making things happen this year? Thought I'd swing by and see how you're making out."

Jason stepped back when Sonny Corinthos advanced to enter, not that he'd been invited to.

"It's a little early for social calls."

Sonny entered the room and turned to face the man who'd made so much of his life possible, but who couldn't remember any of it.

"Not really a social call, honestly."

Jason's already dubious eyes scanned the man closer. "Then what is it?"

Peeling the gloves off, Sonny told him bluntly, "I saw you chase after that freak last night and Michael told me about your conversation. When there was nothing on the news this morning about a dead body found somewhere, I figured you could probably use some help to get it done. We have certain channels to handle these kind of situations, if you get my drift."

Moving around the man, Jason shook his head in dismissal. "You've had years to handle it and haven't bothered, so why the interest now?" He reclaimed his abandoned coffee cup and took a swig.

Sonny nodded knowingly. "When you're right, you're right! That freak should've never been allowed to live after what he did to Sam and Michael, and if you were still here when he turned up again, you would've taken care of him the second he showed his face." When Jason kept his back turned to him, Sonny looked down at his hands and continued, "But I couldn't touch him…I wanted to, I can tell ya that! I almost did, when he showed the tape of what he did to you and Sam in Hawaii…but Sam stopped me. She wanted to hear what he had to say, and after we saw…it was a good thing she had a chance to see that. It gave her hope that maybe it really was all staged for your benefit and maybe she hadn't been put through the ugliest part of it afterall. Then when Danny got sick and he turned out to be a match…"

Jason spun at the mention of his son. "Danny got sick? Sick with what?" He took a quick step towards Sonny when the man hesitated to answer. "What was wrong with Danny that he needed a _match_?"

Sonny realized what he'd said and the alarm that it sent up. Shit, that's right…he wouldn't know. Gesturing towards the coffee pot he asked, "May I?" Then moved to pour himself a cup when no answer came. Taking a much needed gulp of the strong, black liquid, he turned back to his friend to shake his world.

"Danny was only about a year old, shortly after you'd…what happened to you…when we found out he had…" he couldn't help trailing off when he realized the devastating impact of the news he was about to impart…"Lukemia."

It was barely a whisper and Jason thought for a second he probably heard wrong. Maybe he said anemia. No, no - it was soft spoken but clear!

"My son has cancer?" The equally soft and unbelieving question left him as his mind tried to match his vital, enigmatic, beautiful boy with the ugly, deadly, grown up disease. His radiant, mischievous little smile came to Jason's mind and his quick, stirring questions echoed in his ear as he pictured his babyboy battling for his tiny life.

" _Had!_ To be clear, Danny kicked cancer's butt and he's fine now. But back then, we were still being led to believe that Freako was your twin and could possibly be a match for Danny. If that was the case, I couldn't do anything to the one person who could save my brother's little boy. That was the only reason he was allowed to live, you have to believe that. What he did to my son, what he did to Sam…he deserved to die! His little tapes didn't matter much - what mattered was that his actions hurt them and caused them to suffer for a really long time…believe me, I wanted the son-of-a-bitch dead!"

Jason backed to the sofa and dropped when his legs wouldn't hold anymore. His babyboy almost died? He could've come back to find himself in a world where he would've only learned that he'd had a son, _after the fact_? His sweet, precious little boy wouldn't be here now? Making him laugh and constantly giving him food for thought? Brightening his day and filling him with proud, enamored awe? He could be living in a world where there was no Danny?

"So he saved Danny?"

Sonny moved closer to where Jason sat on the sofa. "No, turned out he couldn't. We have the other son-of-a-bitch in town, Julian Jerome, to thank for saving Danny's life…which coincidently, is the only thing that saved his miserable hide too." When Jason looked at him puzzled, Sonny explained, "Julian is a pitiful bastard who doesn't deserve the air he breaths either, but after Sam and Spinelli…after we all tried everything and nothing worked, Julian turned out to be a match. He was the one who donated so Danny could get better."

That made sense. Julian was Sam's father and Danny's grandfather. He owed Julian and didn't even know it. What else didn't he know? What else monumental had happened in his absence from his sons' lives that he needed to hear about? His wife hadn't only been forced to raise their son without any help from him, but it turns out she'd had to deal with one emotional roller coaster after the other, and he hadn't been there. Then he came back and still hadn't been there because he was too busy living a life for somebody else - right to her face! If he had thought her strong before, she was doubly moreso now!

Jason cleared his throat as he tried to reign the emotions he didn't want unfolding in front of a stranger. "I owe Julian!"

 ** _"You owe him nothing!_** He didn't know at the time that he was Danny's grandfather and he sure as hell didn't save Danny out of the goodness of his heart. I was gunning for him, so when he found out he was a match, it's what he used as a bargaining chip to save his own miserable life. Julian Jerome is no saint - Danny was a shield he used to survive. But we didn't care - all that mattered was that he could save him when all the money you and I amassed in this world, couldn't. **_That_** gave him a pass."

Jason rose from the sofa to dismiss his audience. "I need to pickup Danny."

Sonny took the hint and nodded, moving towards the door, then turned back to his friend. "Your truck wasn't out front when I drove up - you need a ride?"

Jason cursed beneath his breath when he realized he'd need to call and wait for a car to get there in the snow, which would probably take an hour that he wanted desperately to be sharing with Danny. Nodding tersely at the offer, he grabbed his leather jacket from the back of the sofa and grudgingly followed Sonny out. He could suffer a few minutes in a car with the man to get to his son.

After a mostly silent twenty minute ride, Sonny turned onto Harborview Drive and Jason had to tell him to take him to Elizabeth's instead, answering the questioning look by informing him that's where his SUV was.

"You still messing with that? Looked to me last night like you and Sam were making progress."

Jason was silent as he contemplated telling the man to mind his own damn business. "She needed a ride - I gave her mine."

Nodding at the simple explanation that he knew from experience was anything but, Sonny had a little bit more to add, "Just don't lose sight of what you really want again. Everytime you try to make something work with Elizabeth, you end up beating your head against a wall. It's just not for you, man."

When they pulled up, her car was parked behind the SUV and Jason grumbled beneath his breath, annoyed at her tiring little games. He knew damn well she purposely moved her car to block him in, so he'd be forced to see her instead of using the spare key he'd brought to simply take it and leave without so much as ringing the doorbell. The boys had spent the night at Audrey's so she could go out, so he knew they weren't home. When he felt Sonny's eyes studying him, he thanked the man for the ride and got out, ignoring the drawled, _goood luuck_.

Jason rang the bell and waited only a second before the door swung open to reveal her clad in a shortie white robe that was open to show the transparent matching teddy beneath…like it wasn't freezing and snowing out. Ignoring the obvious ploy for what it was, he gestured behind him, "Can you move your car?"

"Good morning to you too! Come on, Jason - despite everything, you and I have always remained friends and you've never been anything but respectful and polite with me. This animosity is so unlike you."

"I'm sorry, but you make it a little difficult with all the games you keep playing. Is there any reason why you have my car blocked in right now, when it was the last thing you drove last night?"

"Will you at least come in? It's freezing and I'd like to shut the door."

"No, I'm not staying. I'll wait out here while you get a coat on. Please move your car."

"You haven't even asked to see Jake…don't you want to wish your son a happy new year?"

"I would, if he was here."

Her chin went up in defense. "You don't know that he's not upstairs."

"Is he?" He knew damn well he wasn't.

She pulled the flimsy robe around her and shivered. "Jason, please? We need to talk."

"It's not a good time - I have somewhere I need to be."

"Yes, the same place you always _need_ to be…with Sam and that little brat you've used to replace Jake. **_I'm_** the one who gave you a son first - where is your obligation to **_our_** son?"

His patience was fading really fast and he just wanted to go hold his little boy.

"I have an obligation to **_both_** my sons…and right now I need to go see for myself that the one nobody, including you, bothered to tell me almost died, didn't! Move your damn car, or it's getting my bumper in two minutes."

"Danny may have almost died, but he **_didn't_**! You know who did? Jake! For five long, miserable, heartbreaking years our son was dead to us, Jason, and all of that time I spent mourning him **_alone_**. I don't see you breaking your neck to run come see _him_."

"From what Carly told me, _alone_ was how you'd chosen to raise Jake before I disappeared, so why bitch about doing anything alone? Why is everything a competition with you? I have _two_ sons - **_two_**! Jake came back and I've been loving and taking care of him the whole time since - that won't ever change. I've had the chance to process the miracle of his return and it's every bit as meaningful to me as finding out about Danny. I **_just_** found out about Danny, and I **_need_** to go see him, so this _meaningless_ conversation is _done_!"

Anger riling up in him, Jason walked to the SUV and started it on its way, pushing the car behind him to the end of the driveway and half in the street, then cutting the wheel to a sharp right that took him over the snow covered shrubs and back onto the street, where he veered towards Harborview Towers, without a backward glance. Waste of damn time!

Elizabeth was shaking and she knew it wasn't from just the freezing cold. He really just ran over her car and shrubbery in his haste to get away from her. He really was _that_ anxious to be rid of her company and invitation. As she watched the taillights disappear from view, the heart that had thumped erratically at his arrival, thudded sadly at his dramatic departure, and she had no choice but to grab her coat and the keys for the car so she could move it out of the street.

Jason arrived at Sam's door, just as the sitter was leaving out.

"Mr. Morgan, hi!" She gestured behind her as she pushed an arm into the sleeve of her coat. "Mrs. Morgan and Danny are upstairs - do you want me to get them for you?"

"No, Trudy - thanks. I've got it."

He braced the door with his hand to allow her to pass, then nodded in response to her smile and wave, before going in and closing it behind him. The penthouse was quiet, and if he hadn't just been told they were home, Jason would guess Sam and Danny had gone out. He walked silently around the room, drinking in the place that was slowly becoming familiar again, stopping at the mantle to gaze at the photos displayed there. For the first time in a very long time, he was able to look at his old face with ease and feel a familiarity, pausing to notice for the first time, how happy the man in that picture looked. He was with his family, his baby son sat between them and his beautiful wife was beaming with joy. They made a good-looking family, and Jason could appreciate how he must've felt that day - getting their son back, getting his wife back, getting their life back!

Danny was such a happy baby! Jason looked from the trio to the other photos of him on the mantle, in various stages of his precious development, and he could see that Sam had given their boy a very happy life. He was such a wonderful, special, incredible kid!

"Daddy!"

Music to Jason's ears had him spinning to open his arms just in time to catch an excited leap into them, when Danny ran from the stairs to where he stood.

"Hey, Buddy!"

His greeting sounded thick and garbled and Jason was surprised at the lump that had formed to clog his throat. Pushing back hot tears that stung the corner of his eyes, he enveloped his seed tightly, squeezing him to his chest as he buried his head in his neck, rocking him softly as he moved in front of the mantle. **_This!_** He'd almost missed out on this unbelievably important and special existence and he hadn't even known it till now. Shifting his head so he could plant a kiss to the side of his son's, Jason shuddered and buried his face back in Danny's neck and squeezed him tighter still.

"What's the matter Daddy?"

The innocent question and tiny arms circling his neck wrenched one trapped tear from the corner of his eye, tugging at his heart, where the little boy had completely invaded and planted a homestead flag for all eternity. Struggling for composure, Jason kissed his head again in loving reassurance.

"Nothing's wrong, Buddy! I'm just really, really glad to see you! So glad!"

The tiny arms squeezed him as though sensing he needed it badly. "Me too, Daddy. Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, Bud!"

Sam had been right behind Danny when her head startled at hearing him yell daddy. What was he doing here already? She had plans to be gone before he showed up in a few hours, having arranged for the sitter to come back to wait for him to pick Danny up. As she contemplated easing backwards up the stairs before he saw her, she heard the broken way in which he answered Danny's greeting, and it gave her pause. Something in the way in which he was holding onto Danny for dear life, something in the way he kept kissing and rocking him…something had him shook.

Easing all the way down the stairs, she hovered on the last one and watched them curiously. Something was wrong.

Sensing her, Jason looked up to meet her eyes, his heart making room once again as the charge from the previous night flashed him still.

"Hey!" In his head he'd said so much more.

"Hey!" Sam stepped from the last stair and approached them slowly. "You're early - didn't we say one?"

Jason squeezed Danny's arm, needing to keep touching him, unable to put him down just yet. "Yeah - I couldn't wait to see this guy - I hope you don't mind?" His eyes locked hers as they asked about her, but she lowered hers before he could see.

"No, of course not." Except for the part where she was supposed to be long gone, that is.

Jason squeezed Danny's arm again. "You want to run upstairs and get into your warmest long johns and sweats? We have a big, snowy hill to tackle in thirty minutes - what do you say?"

The brightest smile transformed Danny's little face. "Yaaaa!"

Jason laid him down almost reluctantly, but knowing he'd start to worry him if he held him any longer. They would have the whole day together and he'd get to hold him tight as they slid through the snow. He'd never miss another chance to hold him close again. He watched with Sam as Danny bounded up the stairs and disappeared into his room to get dressed for the cold, then Jason turned his attention to the woman who was trying to make her way to the kitchen to get away from him. Following behind, he watched as she started the coffee maker, leaning lazily against the counter as he concentrated on making her blush.

"Fleeing like a thief in the night will not save you, Morgan."

Sam bit her lip as she kicked herself again for not leaving the penthouse sooner. She used to be able to predict his every move - she should've known he'd show up early after what happened between them. Changing the subject was her only safe play.

"What was that about? You looked like you wanted to hug the life out of Danny!" She kept her eyes averted as she got the creamer from the fridge and two coffee mugs from a cupboard, purposely avoiding all contact, uncertain of what hers might betray.

Jason knew what she was doing but he could wait. He wanted to talk about this first anyway.

"Sonny came to see me. He thought I knew about Danny's…cancer."

A mug toppled from her hands to the counter, and Sam hurriedly uprighted it before she took a breath. It wasn't only that she hadn't been looking forward to telling him about Danny's illness, but she hated having to revisit the most fearful, pain-stricken time in their lives, a time when the life of her son hung in the balance and there was not one damn thing she could've done about it! The pain of losing Jason had hit her harder than anything she'd ever survived before…until she was faced with the possibility of losing their child too. It was almost a full minute before she could make her voice work.

"When I lost Lila, I thought no pain could be greater. There was a point during that experience where I literally wanted to die too. Then when Danny was born and for those four horrible, despondent months I had to feel that pain again, I thought - why does God hate me so much? But he gave Danny back to me, he gave me you, and we started a life together - the way we'd always wanted, and I started to think…maybe he doesn't hate me so much afterall. But as soon as I started to think that, he took you away from me, and just a few months later, gave my son that horrible, horrible disease, and I thought, he's having the time of his life teasing and toying with me. He must really frown upon the sins I've committed in my early life, to be punishing me this cruelly. To be using my children to teach me that I've committed atrocities and he's very displeased. I thought for sure he'd take Danny too, just to punish me."

Jason moved like lightning to her, the agony in her trembling voice grabbing his heart as he pulled her to his arms and planted her against his chest, soothing her hair with gentle strokes.

"It's okay, Sam. It's all okay now."

She hadn't meant to cry. The tears came from out of nowhere to drench his shirt before she could stop them, and as she allowed herself to be held, Sam laughed through the sobs and shook her head against his chest.

"I cried for this…during that time when Danny was so sick…I cried for your arms to fall into, to have your comfort and your strength to help our son through it. I knew that if you were there that Danny would be okay because you would find a way - you always find a way…but you were already gone."

"I'm here now, Sam. You'll never face another day or another single thing in our son's life alone again - I swear." His throat got lumpy for the second time since he'd been there, his heart breaking for the despondent solitude his absence had visited upon his family.

Like a bucket of cold water had been tossed, Sam felt her shoulders rise again and her spirit pick itself up. Pushing back out of his arms slowly, she wiped at the tears that streaked her face, turning from him to wash her hands at the sink and grab a towel.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me suddenly. Danny's fine now. He's been in remission for years - thank God. We stay ontop of his regular checkups and there's not a rash or a fever that doesn't get checked immediately."

Jason was caught off guard by how quickly she reset her countenance, leaving his arms and putting her blockades back up. Cool, calm Sam was firmly back in place in a manner of minutes and he knew he was in for a fight to reach her vulnerability again.


	23. Chapter 23

Sam looked up from the case file when the door to her office was pushed open, to eye the young woman she knew only from a photo her clients had shared when she took the case.

"May I help you?" Better to feign ignorance 'til she made her intentions known.

"If you know where I can find Sam McCall, you can. Where is he?"

Sam leaned back in the chair and studied the lanky blonde who looked nothing like the woman she claimed was her mother, noting from the shifty eyes and jerky movements that she was dealing with someone on edge. Her cold, unfriendly tone was biting as she looked around the office. Sam could guess why she was there.

"You're looking at her! What can I do for you?" Her own tone was nonchalant as she got the usual look of disbelief.

" _You're_ Sam McCall?"

Rising from the chair, Sam grabbed her keys and tapped her fingers on the desk in impatience. "The one and only…and you are?"

After eyeing her from head to toe, the blonde struck her chin out. "Prudence Katz." She paused as she watched for the look of recognition she was expecting her name to alert in Sam, continuing when she got none. "I came here looking for my birth mother…and I found her too…everything was going great - until a few days ago."

Sam moved around the desk to grab her leather jacket from the rack by the door, shoving her arms inside as she continued to study the angry stance before her.

"Oh, yeah? Look, I have someplace I need to be, so please get to the point. Why are you looking for me?"

"To find out why you stuck your nose in my business? Why you gave my mother false information that she now thinks I tried to trick her and wants nothing to do with me."

Sam squared her shoulders and looked the woman in the eye. "Lady, I don't know you, and I don't make a habit of passing my clients _false information_. If my intel is different from yours, it's because yours is wrong. If you disagree, it's nothing that a quick DNA test can't clear up."

"I don't need a DNA test to tell me what I already know and what my mother had no trouble believing - **_I'm her daughter!_** We were just fine until you butted your nose into our business."

Sam was losing patience with the silly conversation. "Suit yourself." She held the door open and gestured with her head for the blond to leave.

"We're not done!" She stood her ground, clutching the purse that hung at her side as she refused to exit the room.

"Yes, we are. There's nothing I can do for you and like I said, I have someplace to be."

When she started to ease her hand inside the purse at her side, Sam shifted and stuck her right hand inside her jacket, fingers closing on the trigger of the small Beretta. Their eyes locked, and seconds passed before the woman obviously thought better of it and slowly retracted her hand from the purse. She moved to the open door, glaring at Sam.

"We'll talk again, Sam McCall! You can count on it."

"I'll be ready whenever you are."

She watched her leave before locking the door behind her and following to the parking lot, where Sam committed the make and plate number of the blue car she drove. As she eyed her moving down the street, Sam sighed at the part of the job she'd worried about once Danny arrived. Certain dangerous elements she used to take in stride, now troubled her when she thought of how they could touch her child. She loved her career, but she'd be lying if she said it couldn't sometimes get pretty dangerous with the type of unscrupulous people she often encountered.

Reaching for her phone, she dialed the penthouse number, before walking to her truck. She breathed easier when the sitter picked up.

"Trudy, hi. Is everything okay there?"

"Hi Mrs. Morgan. Everything's fine - we just got back from the park and Danny's taking a nap."

"Good. Make sure you let me know if you're going to leave the penthouse, and don't ever let him out of your sight, okay?"

"Of course. Is everything okay?"

Sam forced herself to relax, realizing she was alarming the young woman. "Everything's fine, but like we've talked about, sometimes my job rub people the wrong way and you never know how they'll react. Danny is everything, you know that. Just be really alert when you're with him, please."

"Danny is safe with me, Mrs. Morgan. He's the sweetest little boy and I'd never let anything happen to him."

"I know, Trudy. Thank you. I'll see you in a little while."

"Ahh, Mrs. Morgan?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Morgan is here."

Sam's heart skipped a beat and her throat got instantly parched.

"Why?" He was having dinner with Danny later - why was he there before lunchtime?

"He was here when we got home…he's down in the storage room now."

Sam hadn't seen him since the afternoon she made a blubbering mess of herself in the kitchen and ended up in his arms. She'd had quite a time extricating herself from his hold but once she regained her composure, she'd shot out of there like a bat out of hell, saying she had to work. He'd taken Danny sledding and she hadn't returned until late that night, so he was long gone by then. She wasn't looking forward to their next conversation at all, but she felt childish the way she'd avoided him since the night she let herself give in to the pull between them and let loose her desires…but she'd have to face him again sooner or later. When had running ever solved anything?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jason looked curiously at the lockbox sitting at the bottom of the fourth trunk he'd gone through. Sam had stored his things as though she'd been expecting him to come home at any minute, and it reminded him of the many conversations they'd had as friends, where she'd told him how she hadn't given up believing her husband was alive, even when everybody told her he wasn't. Looking around the room earlier had told him so much. She'd kept everything - the clothes, the biker boots, the books, even the extensive gun collection that took up an entire wall of the room. She hadn't let anything of his go, and except for a few boxes marked _Sam_ , and _Danny's baby_ _clothes_ , it was all his. The lockbox he found was the best surprise of the morning, its contents giving him an idea of what had been important to Jason Morgan.

He removed the nine millimeter that was sitting on top, and laid it aside to get to the photos in the bottom of the box, several of a young, redhead Michael and baby Morgan Corinthos. Others were of Sam in varying stages and years, one taken of her asleep with a hand tucked beneath her cheek and her raven lochs pulled back in a ponytail. She was a beauty, and his eyes locked for minutes as he saw instantly why he must've snapped it. Her face was so peaceful at rest, the tiniest, tiniest smile discerned on her lips as though she was dreaming of something sweet. As he looked at the picture, Jason was transported to the room where he could see himself sitting on the edge of their bed, watching her in awe, stroking the side of her face gingerly as he marveled how beautiful and perfect she was. He loved her so much.

He went through the other pictures and was surprised to find ones of baby Jake, but no Danny. Then he remembered that he wouldn't have had pictures of Danny, since the only one back then was taken the same night he'd disappeared. Once again he was reminded of all the time he'd missed with his son, and just before anger swept in, he removed the last two items from the box.

The first was a passport, and the second he opened it and his eyes landed on the picture stuck in the middle of it, a memory lighted his mind. He was going away. He stood at the desk in the living room, his mind still on Sam and their conversation from earlier that day. Things were still very taught between them after they'd both slept with other people and widened the gap in their suddenly tense relationship. They were slowly making progress, trying to talk things through and forgive each other's slip…trying to remember what they'd fought for years to create. But he had to go out of town. Timing was terrible, but Sonny needed him to take care of business, and although he'd much rather stay and work things out with her, it was his job. He couldn't take her with him, but he could take a piece of her. Sticking the photo of the two of them in the passport, he looked around the room where they'd spent so much time together, bringing it to life. _She'd_ brought it to life. Her presence in his life had given him more richness than anything else, and it was in that very room where he'd also hurt her greatly. He looked down at her smiling face before he closed the passport that he would keep close. God, please make her able to forgive him and bring her light back to his life. Make him able to forgive her like he'd never been able to forgive before, to make him able to breathe again.

Sighing as the memory faded, Jason looked down at the photo, a replica of the very same one Carly had shown him on Christmas. It had obviously meant a great deal to him if he was taking it where he went. Sticking the passport inside a pocket, Jason looked at the final item in the box, his breath catching when it was a sonogram photo. Turning it over, his heart thumped at the writing that read, _Baby Morgan, April 12, 2012_. Unable to stop the sudden blur to his vision, Jason swallowed the lump in his throat and turned the photo back over. _Danny's very first!_

 _You okay?_

 _Yea, yea - I'm just, ah, you know, I'm excited to see our baby._

 _Okay, here we go! There's your baby…looking nice and healthy!_

 _Wow…look at our baby, Sam!_

 _I can't believe it_

 _He or she is being a little shy today. If you wanna find out if it's a boy or girl, I can try to finagle_

 _It's ah, it's up to you_

 _Well, what do you think?_

 _I think I'd like to keep it a surprise, if that's okay_

 _Alright, a surprise it is_

They were so happy! He'd held on to that photo of their love like a trophy that day, proudly showing it off to everyone close to him. His longtime dream of a child with the woman he loved was right there in his hands, right there inside of her, at long last. He couldn't believe how incredibly lucky and blessed they were. Finally, she'd have the one thing he'd feared he would never be able to give her.

That was the joy that had been ripped from their grasp, at the height of their happiest time together. By Franco fucked Baldwin!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam reached across the counter at Kelly's to grab the cup of coffee from TJ, smiling warmly as she took a sip, closed her eyes to the heavenly afternoon delight, then opened them to incline her head in thanks. TJ returned her wide smile and went back to the kitchen.

"Hello beautiful!"

She'd know that cocky cockney anywhere now. Turning to meet the photographer who'd walked up to stand behind her, Sam smiled in greeting.

"Ian! How're you?"

"Well, my day just got decidedly better." His cocky smile lifted the corners of his mouth while hungry eyes roved her with his usual brash appreciation. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to wish you a happy new year the other night…I looked for you, but…"

Sam recalled how Jason had chased the man off and smiled despite herself.

"Don't feel too bad…you're not the first man my husband's left quaking in his boots! It's his thing, actually."

Ian's brow rose at the dripping pride in her statement, his heart dropping at the label she gave the brutish man. " _Husband?_ "

Surprised at her slight slip, Sam corrected as she moved towards the door. " _Ex_ -husband! It's good to see you, Ian. Take care."

"Wait, Samantha…" When she hesitated and turned to him, he hurried to correct himself. "Sam! I'd still like to show you off some night - how about it? What are you doing this evening?"

"Ian, this is getting a little tedious, don't you think? I appreciate the offer, really I do…but I'm not interested, so please - let this be the last time you waste your time asking, please?"

When the harshness in her words sounded to her own ears, Sam tried to lighten the suddenly awkward moment. "Trust me, I am not your type! You want the girl who'll laugh at your charming little jokes and wait with anticipation for your calls. I, on the other hand, am too busy even for my adorable kid at times…you don't want me, trust me!"

"You are so wrong about that!"

She took a step towards him and met his eyes. "You're sweet, but it's still a definite no. Let's just leave it there, okay?" Before he formed a response, she waved and walked purposely to the door. "See you around, Ian!"

Watching her walk away had the opposite effect of what she wanted, her sexy strides mesmerizing as his eyes fixated on the sway of her hips, making him want her more than ever.

"Do you always give up that easily?"

Ian turned to find the soft voice that belonged to someone he didn't know.

"Excuse me?"

Elizabeth avoided eye contact as she laid the bills down on the table to pay for her lunch, then stood, holding her hand out to the young photographer.

"Nurse Elizabeth Webber. You're Ian, right? We haven't been formally introduced but I've seen you with Sam and Maxie…you like her, huh?"

"It's that obvious?"

"Only to anyone with eyes!" She gave him her brightest smile and winked his way. "I've known Sam for years, and I can tell you that she likes a man with confidence and surety. She likes to be chased, and if you give up now, you'll never know where you could've gotten with her."

"You and Samantha are friends?"

Elizabeth adjusted the strap of the purse hanging at her shoulder. "I've known her since she rolled into town thirteen years ago. Tough as nails, so you need to be strong if you want her to notice you. Back off now and she'll never take you seriously."

Elizabeth couldn't believe her luck. She'd been picking at a sandwich as she contemplated her next move, one that she'd been struggling with, but felt like she had no choice. It was either that or give up on getting Jason back, and that she'd never do. Friends or not, she had to do what she had to do. She saw when the woman rolled in and got her coffee, wished her to choke on it when she watched her sip, then got the best present she'd had all day when the man before her tried to hit on her. She eyed her try to play hard to get, and felt sorry for the poor fool lapping at her tail. She knew it was a matter of time before she'd bed him too, but she couldn't wait for nature to take its course - she missed Jason everyday and had enough of not having him home and in her bed. It was time to take things under control and make her life what she wanted it again.

Handing a card to the photographer, she decided to grab the perfect opportunity that had presented itself.

"Call me tomorrow…I'll be happy to help you to get our friend Sam to change her mind about you. Leave everything to me." She moved past him and Ian looked at the card in his hand then back at her retreating back.

"Why? You don't even know me?"

"What's to know when love is in the air?" She continued through the door and hurried to catch the launch to Spoon Island.

Twenty minutes later, she checked her makeup, cleared her throat, and shoved the warning sirens sounding in her head to the very back of her mind. She had to do this - she had no choice.

"Nikolaus, are you here?" She entered the study just as he rose from the oak desk to approach her.

"Elizabeth, what a nice surprise! What brings you by?"

Engaging the brightest, sexiest smile she could muster, she removed the scarf from her neck and laid it with the purse on the couch next to them before slipping out of her coat.

"I needed a friendly face, and there's no better friend I have in this world. "How've you been?"

"Very well, thank you. I'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time. Is this about Jason again?"

She took a seat on the couch as the prince moved to the cabinet to pour her a drink.

"You know how I feel about him, Nikolaus. It's not fair that we got this close and then it's all just ripped away from me like that. This was supposed to be our time…it's just not fair."

Nikolaus handed her the glass then sat down next to her. "Maybe it's just not meant to be. It's time to put that chapter behind you and move on, my friend. You weren't meant to be a Morgan, and that's his loss. You shouldn't let it continue to make you miserable."

"Maybe you're right…maybe it's time I faced facts and just put Jason and that chapter behind me once and for all." She summoned the tears that engaged every man who ever loved her into protective mode. "I gave him _everything_ in me…and he made me think he wanted me too." When his arms surrounded her to pull her to him, she smiled to herself and let the tears flow more freely. "I feel so stupid, Nikolaus. I mean, it was right before me the whole time…he's always wanted her and not me. And who can blame him…who would want _me?_ "

Nikolaus hugged her to him tightly and soothed her softly. "Stop it - you stop that right now. Elizabeth, you are beautiful and smart and any man in his right mind will jump at the chance to love you. Jason Morgan is a brain damaged fool who never deserved you…don't you shed one more tear over him, do you hear me? He never deserved my cousin and he doesn't deserve you either."

She sniffled loudly and swiped at the tears staining her cheeks. "You have to say that - you are my friend." Another loud sniffle garnered her another tight hug.

"I mean every word. You are remarkable, Elizabeth. The best person I know."

Using a tentative cheek, she moved her face slowly against his, breathing heavily as she allowed shy lips to form a trail along the same cheek. When his head moved back so he could see her eyes, she stared at him with the big, ogling gaze that relayed her raw vulnerability, even as she closed in to place her face a mere inch away from his.

"Nikolaus!" She whispered breathlessly and allowed her breath to brush his lips, lips she could see quivering to kiss her. Without warning, she closed the distance between them to lock him hungrily, then delicately went limp against him to allow him to take control, soon moaning lustily when he took her, right there on the couch in his study.

Just one hour later, Elizabeth Webber boarded the launch that would take her back home, puffed up with the satisfaction that she'd gotten exactly what she came for. She'd spent weeks flushing the birth control from her system and now, she was sure things were looking up once again. Nobody was more fertile than she was, and although Jason had refused to touch her lately, she'd now gotten a replacement deposit from Nikolaus. Jason Morgan was coming home and she **_would_** wear his name…he just didn't know it yet.


	24. Chapter 24

"Found anything good?" Sam walked into the storage unit and studied the man sitting on the floor, surrounded by his life. It was hours after Trudy had told her where he was and he was still at it.

Jason looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. His heart skipped at the sight of her, the all black she was clad in, stirring memories that hadn't surfaced before. She liked wearing black, as a matter of fact, so did he! He hadn't worn much black in the last year, but he saw from the clothes around him that his current wardrobe was a departure from his usual choices.

"I'll say! This is exactly where I needed to visit a long time ago." His eyes swept the open trunks before going back to her. "Thank you for saving this stuff — it really helps put some things together for me."

She stopped near him and picked up the sonogram he'd lain ontop of the closed lockbox. "They're yours, you're more than welcome to them." She couldn't believe he'd kept Danny's sonogram! She sat on a trunk, remembering the day it was taken.

"Imagine his face when he sees how tiny he started out?" He was looking forward to seeing Danny's reaction to the photo she held. If it was anything like his, or now hers, it will be priceless.

Sam smiled at the image that pulled at her heartstrings still. "He's still the very best thing I've ever done." Her whisper was dreamy as she pictured her baby's face, smiling and happy like the gorgeous little angel that he was.

"Yeah…me too." He loved seeing her happy and smiling. "I'm sorry, Sam. I'm sorry I was always leaving you."

She looked up at the troubled expression that haunted his eyes. "You didn't. You've always been there for me, Jason…even when you hated me, you had my back."

He was shaking his head. "I don't see how that could be true when I was always running off to do something or other for Sonny or someone else. Then I left you to raise Danny…why are you so forgiving?"

"Because that's how you've always been with me - who do you think taught me how?" She shook her head at the memory of their earlier days. "You're a good man, Jason. One day I hope you'll remember that."

"You seem to think so…at one time anyway…enough to want a family with me." His whisper travelled the space between them and he wanted to know what they were really like. "Why? What did you see in a killer, Sam?"

"The rest!" Her eyes never left his as Sam saw the vulnerability so few knew he had, rise to the surface. "There's so much more to you than that…you were the very best friend when I found myself pregnant with Lila, alone and homeless. You didn't judge me, or make me feel inferior because of my mistakes. You didn't treat me like an inconvenience or a burden, and you have no idea what that did for my self esteem. When we fell in love, you treated me like an equal…my opinion and my needs mattered. They not only mattered, they were important to you! That built me up so much, Jason. It was totally different from anything I'd known before, and you gave me that. Loving you was the easiest, most natural thing I'd ever done, and it happened without either of us realizing it for a long time. It happened because of the wonderful man you are. Please don't sell yourself short."

Memories of them drinking tequila and playing dominoes surfaced in his mind, and Jason could remember coming in wet from the raging storm, to find her grabbing an umbrella to go out after him. Dr. Thomas had made him feel useless to help Michael, to empathize with his pain, to feel love for him or for Sam, and he'd needed to get away. The howling winds and pounding hurricane had not stopped her from getting ready to come after him, and her words that night had saved his soul. She saw him in a light he had no idea where from, but it gave him everything. Knowing that she could feel the intense love he felt for her, that she could see that it was as real as it felt to him, and that she loved him back in that fierce, unstoppable way, despite what others thought, had meant so very much.

"I don't understand, Sam…if we loved each other the way we did, and I can feel how much I loved you…if we were so in love and committed to each other, how in God's name did we lose it? Why did we sleep with other people?"

Sam flapped the photo absently against her fingers as she thought back to their early years. "We let them in, Jason. You and I got off track when we allowed what other people wanted, to become more important than making time for each other, than being each other's touchstone. You were running the business for awhile and I wanted a career so I wouldn't feel as dependent as I'd been then, relying on you for everything. What we failed to notice, were other people's agendas to infiltrate and destroy our relationship." Her voice waned with the pain remembering that time always brought back. "We let them."

"How?"

She told him about the woman who came to town seeking revenge for her father's death, making it her mission to break them apart as retribution for Sam killing him, even though it had been self defense from him trying to kill her for swindling him. She told him about the job that demanded her time and energy and robbed their relationship of the attention it had known, before she got super busy. She told him of the closeness he'd rekindled with the woman who would later come between them with a secret child and ultimate betrayal, and then she told him of the deepest, most painful regret that would follow her through life. Without excuses or self serving reasons, she told him of her complacency watching the kidnapping, and of the weeks spent in silence about it.

Jason watched her features as she spoke the obviously painful, torturous words, and he wondered how he could have hurt her in such a callous, unfeeling way.

"She told me about the kidnapping awhile back, and I have to admit it really threw me a gut punch when she said it. I don't understand how that could've been you - it's not who you are, Sam."

She met his eyes and accepted the doubt she saw there. "I didn't think so either, and to this day I still don't know how I could've let it happen. Feeling the way that I do about children, feeling the way that I did about you…I'll never be able to explain what happened there."

"Carly had a few choice words for me about it and I think she was right. You were dealing with alot and it took more of a toll on you than anyone knew. That is so out of character with the woman I know, that it's unreal to me, even now. I've seen you with Jake - you love him! The way you are with our son, with my nephews and your sisters…that's not the woman that would ever let harm come to a child. I know that…" He could see the pain she still carried from that time and he felt a keen responsibility for some of it. He had inflicted some himself by not being honest and true to the person he'd pledged his heart and soul to, who'd loved him through so much and seen him through a lot more. He'd failed her. His betrayal aided in unravelling this strong, resourceful, loyal woman, and when she broke before his very eyes, he'd continued to fail her by siding with others against her, pushing her spiral even further. How could you be so callous with someone you loved? "I know you, Sam!"

She felt the lone tear run her cheek as the sorrow and guilt she always carried with that time, resurface in the room. She would never not regret her actions during that dark period of her life, and if there was ever one thing in this world that she could take back, that would be it - hands down! She'd never regretted anything more in her entire life. "I'm sorry, Jason. I'll be sorry until the day I die."

"I'm sorry too, Sam. So sorry I didn't show up for you, the way you always did for me."

Silence filled the room as they each took their mental corners for a moment before he brought up the incident that was also eating at him. "I'm also sorry that I could ever look you in the eyes and threaten your life."

Sam shook her head and pursed her lips, looking down at her shuffling feet. "I deserved it. You needed to protect your son and if the roles had been reversed, I would've threatened you for my child too." She thought of Jason putting Danny in danger and knew she would, even as she knew it would never happen. Jason would never knowingly endanger a child. Not like she had.

"Don't forgive me so easily. It was a shitty thing to do. I could've found another way to get my point across. I could've been less of an unfeeling jackass in the light of how I'd treated you. It's unforgivable, Sam."

She shook her head again, this time meeting his eyes. "Obviously not. If you could forgive me for Jake, I could surely forgive you for protecting him. It hurt, I'll admit that it did. But I think more because I felt that raging jealousy about Elizabeth at that time…she had given you the **_one_** thing I'd have let go of a limb to give you. She had your child and the bond that creates between two people, and I was left out in the cold with nothing. I hated her more than I hated anybody in the world, and I couldn't believe you'd kill me over her. That really stung. But as time wore on and sanity returned, I was able to see what I'd done and why your natural instinct was to protect your son. I wouldn't have expected any less from you, and if I hadn't been so blinded by jealousy and hatred at the time, I would've seen it all for what it was."

"Don't excuse that cowardly act - I don't ever get to threaten your life - ever!"

"I don't blame you, Jason…I was out of control. I would've threatened me too."

It was his turn to shake his head. "No, you wouldn't." His heart hurt with the pain he'd inflicted on someone he loved so much. "You've never wished anything bad to happen to me, Sam. Never."

"How can you be so sure? You don't remember anything."

He shook his head again, harder this time. "Never…I just know."

She rose from the trunk and walked the small space that was uncluttered. "We managed to put it behind us. It wasn't easy and it's never forgotten…but it is forgiven…on both our ends. That's the only way we were able to find each other again."

"Tell me about that. I mean, I remember the involvement of one very memorable pink and black outfit, but not much else."

Sam chuckled. "So the lingerie made the cut but the meaningful stuff didn't?"

Jason smiled. "Oh, that piece is _very_ meaningful! Maybe next time you stop by the cabin, you could remind me what it looks like… _on_." His eyes roved her candidly and Sam's cheek burned with color at his proposition.

"Yea, about that…" She moved further away from him, turning her back to prevent her from seeing his reaction to her next words. "What happened the other night can't happen again. Neither of us are in that place right now."

His voice startled her when it sounded right behind her - she didn't know he'd moved to stand there. "Oh, yeah? What place is that?"

"A place where we need to complicate things with sex."

He was so close she could feel his breath brush the back of her head. "We didn't have sex, Sam…we made love." His whisper softened even more. "I was there…I remember every sweet, sweet detail."

Her cheeks were on fire now, much like the rest of her was coming ablaze. "That shouldn't have happened, Jason. We got a little emotional…carried away by…"

He was standing close. His body was responding to her in a most physical way, forcing him to softly brush the hair to tuck behind an ear, even as she refused to face him. Not that he had a problem with that…the back of her was equally as enticing as everywhere else. That firm, tight ass that he could remember gripping, that sexy, toned back that took all his strength behind every glorious push inside her. "By?"

"By the magical night."

He desperately wanted to kiss the ear exposed to him, to start there and travel down that voluptuous, sublime body. "It certainly _was_ magical."

The ringing phone startled the silence to snap them both back to the moment and out of the trance of the cozy, moonlit cabin, where they'd travelled in remembrance. Saved by the literal bell! Sam moved hurriedly across the room as she grabbed for the phone in her pocket, latching onto the excuse she desperately needed to break his hold on her very aroused senses. She was in so much goddamn trouble.


	25. Chapter 25

He came out of nowhere. Sam felt the gun pressed to her side as soon as she alighted from the SUV, outside the offices of McCall and Jackal PI. Breath that smelled like stale onions and garlic, washed the side of her face when he whispered harshly close to her ear.

"Make any sudden moves and I'll shoot you right here. Give me your piece!"

She tried to see his face but he was angled behind her, poking her hard in the side to indicate she better not turn around.

"I'm not carrying anything."

Roughly, he groped her pockets then ran his hand around her waist, removing the small gun tucked in the back of her jeans.

"Nice try. Lie to me again and you'll regret it!"

Her voice was equally cold when she asked, "What do you want?"

He was steering her towards her office and Sam obeyed, knowing once she got inside all bets were off. He pushed the door open with his foot, an indication he'd been inside before she got there, as it was no longer locked. She fell to the chair in front of the desk where he shoved her, then stood directly before her, giving her the chance to see that she didn't recognize the dark haired grunge. As she studied the hard face and cold brown eyes, she realized that he didn't bother to have it covered. He wasn't trying to hide his face, which told her instantly he didn't plan for her to survive his visit.

"I told you I'd see you again."

The cold drawl of a familiar female voice sounded behind Sam from the direction of her bathroom, and after waiting patiently for her to make her way round to face her, Sam looked up cooly.

"I see you brought company this time. What's the matter, knew you couldn't take me by yourself?"

The next second, Sam's head snapped to the right when the lanky blonde slapped her as hard as she could, then stepped back to gloat at the angry red fingerprints that appeared across her cheek.

"My family had nothing to do with you! You just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong! Well, guess what, gangster chick - you're gonna give me every penny you shorted me, and then some! Where's the safe?"

"What safe?"

By the looks of things, they'd tossed the office thoroughly in their search and now she knew what they'd been looking for, but the safe in the room was well masked in clear view, the front of it designed to blend perfectly with the decor. Jason and Spinelli were the only other people who knew exactly where it was…these fools could look all day and they'd never spot it right in front of their noses.

"This doesn't have to get bloody - give me what you owe me and we'll leave."

"Listen, greedy bitch! Nobody owes you shit in this life! Try _working_ for what you want, instead of running around with Dopey, robbing innocent people when **_they_** do!"

This time it was her boyfriend's fist that crashed into Sam's jaw, and after spitting out the blood that pooled in her mouth, she looked them one to the other, her anger growing in bounds when she plotted payback.

"Do we look like we're here to play _nice_ , lady? You'll give us every penny in this place, or I'll gut you and watch you bleed, then find it myself!"

Sam sneered as she met his eyes in contempt. "You two really are as dumb as you look, aren't you? What type of money do you expect to find in a PI office?"

Onion breath knelt before her and gripped Sam's knee, digging bony fingers in while the yellow teeth grin with the missing incisors, nauseated her. "But you're not just a PI now, are you? You think we don't know you're washing money through here for your mob husband and Sonny Corinthos?"

The blonde grabbed a handful of Sam's hair and painfully yanked at the roots. "Enough wasting our time - show me the damn safe."

Gritting her teeth, Sam closed her eyes for a brief second while she willed herself to stay calm, then she opened them to seek out the skinny grunge. The gun was lowered and tapping his leg as he started pacing nervously in front of her, his ire growing at her lack of co-operation.

 _"_ _There - is - no - safe."_ She dragged the sentence out to push a button, ready when it worked and brought the man striding over to hit her again. He punched her in the stomach and Sam doubled over as if in pain, at the same time reaching down to the leg of her jeans to come up swinging, stabbing him in the jaw with her trusty, leg-strapped companion, catching him completely off guard. Leaving the knife in, she scrambled up and over her desk, tumbling to the floor just before a shot sounded in her direction, following his grizzly, horrific howl of pain.

 ** _"_** ** _Shoot that bitch!"_** The angry blonde's shout echoed her boyfriend's obvious sentiment when a second bullet zinged above Sam's head as she yanked the lower drawer open and reached inside to the bottom of the middle one, quickly unsnapping the loaded .357 magnum strapped there, dropping flat to her back, so the small space beneath the desk afforded a view of their legs as they shuffled to get around it. Taking quick aim, Sam fired and connected with the man's right foot, sending him dropping to the ground with a screech of pain that filled the room. With the excruciating pain to keep him busy, Sam aimed for the blonde, who had dropped to her knees near him in panic, her flashing hands relaying she had no clue what to do.

Jumping to her feet, Sam was just in time to get the drop on the woman who started scrambling to grab the gun from where it had fallen during her boyfriend's melee.

 ** _"_** ** _Stop!"_** When she froze with a whimper, her hand hovering just above the piece, Sam finished circling the desk to order, "Slowly, slide it over here!"

After only a moment of hesitation, the woman did as she was told, and Sam, knowing the man still had the gun he'd taken from her earlier, used her foot to send it the rest of the way behind her, still covering them both as she reached for the phone on her desk, not too worried at the sight of him still gripping his ankle and howling like a banshee as he bled out. After requesting 9-1-1 assistance, Sam instructed the frightened woman to move back and take a seat on the floor, up against the far wall.

Kneeling in front of him and with the blonde still in eyeshot, Sam rested the cocked gun snugly to the side of his head, her eyes telling him to just try her.

"I have a very nervous trigger finger, so I wouldn't move an inch right now, if I were you!" She grabbed the left pocket of his coat, finding her gun there, taking it with her as she stepped back to brace herself against her desk to cover them both with a piece in each hand. The blonde was shaking and crying, eyeing her boyfriend's blood with a disgusted grimace on her face.

"This isn't right! You can't just do this to us - **_you_** butted into **_my_** life! **_Just let us go!_** "

Sam looked at the woman and remembered a time when running a con was what she knew, the only way that she lived, and she pictured herself where it ended up…on the business end of Bill Monroe's fists, scrambling for the shotgun that would save her life when he advanced with the intent to kill. She remembered how she turned things around in Port Charles, making something of herself and being so much the better for it. She thought about finding out about Alexis and how she'd given her up at birth, for her sake.

"You can stop wasting your breath - I don't feel the least bit, bad for you. You took a painful time in Justine's life, when she had to give up a baby she loved, so she could have a future, and you tried to milk those nice people out of what you think they owe you, when you're not even **_her_**? What exactly do they owe you for? Being too damn lazy to work for a living, like everybody else? Here's a free tip…when you and your mangy boyfriend finally get back into society, first learn how to bathe, then try **_earning_** your money. It's a whole lot sweeter to spend - I can tell you that! And a second tip, that might keep you alive…if there was mob money here and you got your greedy paws on it - do you have any idea how dead you would be before you even got to spend a penny?"

 _"_ _Git me a docta!"_ The sad sound garbled from the floor, as the writhing and wailing continued.

The blonde was annoyed with it. " ** _Oh, shut up, Carl - this is your fault!_** **_You let one tiny little woman get the jump on you?"_**

The sound of sirens filled the air, sending renewed panic through the young woman, and relief through Sam.

"Please, Sam? Please don't let them take me - I wasn't going to let him hurt you, I swear. We just wanted enough to get out of town and set up someplace. Let me go and I promise I'll never bother you again - please!"

Ignoring the trumped up pleas for mercy, Sam swung the door open to allow the first two armed officers entry, simultaneously raising her own guns, fingers off the triggers, as they swarmed in aiming at her.

 ** _"_** ** _Put the guns down, now!"_**

She carefully held them out towards the nearest officer, who took both quickly and waved her back inside the room, two more following suit and quickly taking charge of the intruders, with paramedics in tow.

"Sam, everything okay here?"

She looked from the officer cuffing the weeping woman to see Dante Falconeri had entered her office and was studying the chaos.

"Yeah, it's under control."

"I can see that." Dante shook his head, looking in wonder at the tossed room, the subdued intruders who were twice her size, then back to the tiny woman with the big skills. "You do know that you're pint-sized, don't you? Cause I gotta tell you, everytime I find you in a situation like this, I have to wonder how the heck you do it?" He knew he wore a shocked expression but it was fully warranted. "You took these two all by yourself?"

Sam pushed her hair back from her face and let her hand rest there for one second. "They broke in and tossed the place, Dante - I had to protect myself!"

The Detective rolled into professional mode, raking the awe from his voice. "Okay, tell me what happened?"

It took the PCPD hours to process the scene, so after giving her statement to Dante and assuring him she didn't need the medical assistance that he offered, Sam left them to it and went home. She'd had enough of the day and just wanted a nice hot bath to wash those grimy people off her.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jason went to sit on the couch and sighed going down, throwing his head back in frustration at what he had to do. He'd just come from visiting Jake, where he'd been cornered by Elizabeth and given the shock of his most recent months. Just when he thought he had a new, clear path to what he truly wanted, to what he needed, she hit him with another brewing storm. He sighed again and looked at Sam, who had curled into the chair across from him, watching him curiously. She'd ducked him for weeks, even going on assignment for a few extremely long days, where he ached to join her, to watch her back, to keep her safe…but had to settle for visiting Danny at Alexis' instead. She'd finally stopped running and allowed infrequent, civil conversations between them, even as she still kept him at arm's length. He'd give anything not to have to utter the dreadful words he needed to now.

"Elizabeth thinks she's pregnant."

Sam knew something was off with him. The moment she saw him at the door, a mixture of anger and disbelief marring his handsome face, she knew something had happened.

" _Thinks_ she is - the _nurse_ doesn't _know_?"

"She hasn't taken a test yet - says she just knows her symptoms after having gone through it a few times now. I'm meeting her at GH in a couple hours to find out for sure."

Sam shrugged and shook her head dismissively, "She probably is…I've never known anyone more fertile in my life."

He knew her. Knew she wasn't as calm on the inside as she sounded out. "I wasn't trying for this, Sam." When she didn't look at him, his heart fell, feeling her pull even further away once again. Every single time he made a bit of headway and started to let him in - wham! Every time! "I was always careful…this is totally unexpected."

"Pregnancy is a very real part of having sex, Jason, so you have to expect it's a possibility when you engage." She tried not to let the rapid increased pounding of her heart affect her mood when she whispered below her breath, " _Unless you're me._ "

"I know, but we were both being careful - I swear. She wasn't anymore ready for another one than I was."

A strained silence developed between them and neither wanted it there. Sam knew the woman would stop at nothing to get him back and she knew very well the lengths she would go to appear innocent, while she struck the mostly deadly blow. She'd just been toying with the idea of lowering her walls and allowing him to get a little closer. Good thing she hadn't.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not going back to her, if that's what you're asking." His soft voice washed the space between them as he ached to pull her close. All during the tirade from earlier, the only thing he could think about was what this news would do to the fragile link he'd finally managed to bridge between them. He couldn't afford to let Elizabeth destroy that now.

Sam was equally soft spoken. "It's not…but you've laid yourself at her feet before when she told you she was pregnant, even when she said the kid wasn't yours…what makes now any different? You always thought she needed a husband and father for them, and you've _quite willingly,_ offered to fill that role…more than once."

Sting! Jason looked at her lowered eyes as she studied a raised knee on the opposite chair, mentally kicking himself for how much he'd hurt her. What had been the matter with him? Had he always been just a blind man walking? The lack of competition was so blatantly evident that he couldn't understand for the life of him, how he ever let her get away from him. How he ever did anything to hurt her.


	26. Chapter 26

"Did you get me checked out?"

Sam looked up in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Medically? You never had my head shrunk, to find out why I would ever do those things to you? Obviously something wasn't right, Sam!"

"Stop it - you're not funny!" But he was a little bit funny.

Jason waited for her to look at him again, then he shared something he'd been wanting to. "I've been remembering alot more recently." He smiled when her eyes lightened with warmth. She so obviously wanted him to be okay.

"Is that right? Like what?" Sam's heart skipped a beat when she thought of their life together and the possibility now that he'd remember, knowing that even if he didn't remember _them_ , she wanted him to remember _him_.

"Different things. Different stages and people. I didn't know I'd traveled the world before - it's nice getting those memories back…there's a whole lot out there to see and it was quite an experience."

Sam nodded with a tiny smile that curved her lips. "You told me about that. You loved traveling by yourself and experiencing some really off the beaten path places that never see tourists. Those were your favorites."

Jason smiled at her calm. "I really like that I talked to you so much…I like talking to you now too."

Despite herself, Sam found her cheeks reddening at his soft compliment. "What else?"

Clearing his throat, Jason told her of the memories that had resurfaced, covering different periods in his life and with different people. He didn't leave anything out, not even the ones with Elizabeth that he'd rather not mention but that he knew he had to. He'd keep nothing at all from her…something in him told him that's the way he wanted it, always. He watched her keenly when he relayed one memory in particular, the payoff tweaking his heart when she wanted to know more.

"You remembered Lila?"

Jason nodded and smiled at her soft, emotional question. "Awhile back, actually…but it was fuzzy then. I remembered holding her for the first time, but not much else. I remember more now."

"She gave us the chance to find each other."

"How?" He wanted to see if she saw them the same way he did.

"We moved in together because I was pregnant and Sonny wanted his family back. Carly didn't want me anywhere near you - she voted for sending me out of town on the first freighter…but you and Sonny wanted him to have access to his child. I did too - I knew my daughter would be better off here with people who would love her."

"Are you saying we only got together because you were pregnant and needed me?"

"No…I mean, at first, yes…you pretended to be her father so that Carly and Michael could have their family back, and Sonny would have his child close by. That was you - always sacrificing yourself for somebody else's happiness. You were recently divorced from Courtney at the time, but you still loved her, and for awhile there, you had a real chance of getting that back."

"Until I realized that I had moved on from her. I left her free to live the life she really wanted…and not long afterwards, I realized that I wanted something different too."

"We didn't plan it. It really just started out as giving Lila a home with people who would love her, something I never had growing up. I wanted that for her. But then I got to know you. I'd always thought of you as just Sonny's hitman - the cold, steely guy who's sole purpose was ensuring Michael and Carly's happiness, and Sonny's safety. I was a threat to at least one of those things, so you kept me near so you could monitor and control it…that's what I thought at first…then it became so much more. I got to _really_ know you. I got to see for myself how selfless and nurturing you were with them, and how you took nothing for yourself - that was new to me. My sole goal had always been taking care of myself and Danny - nobody else mattered. I took what I needed and moved on - that's how I kept my head on my shoulders. But I wasn't able to do that with you."

"Why?" He stopped breathing waiting for the answer.

"I fell in love. Hard!" Sam picked at her fingernails as she remembered the most electric time of her life. "You really cared - about your sister, your grandmother…about Sonny and his family, about Lila… _about me_. You moved heaven and earth to make sure everybody was okay, and Carly and Sonny never made that easy - constantly needed saving from themselves, so that was one very tall order. That's when I realized that no-one was taking care of _you_. No-one was making sure that your needs were met, even while you took care of everybody's…so I needed to do that. I wanted to be that person for you…listener, confidante, backup, friend, comfort zone."

"You were. All those things…and so much more!"

"So what are you going to do?" Feeling a sudden need to change the subject, she shivered when he was getting so close.

Jason shifted in his seat, always watching her keenly. He'd never hurt her again - not if he had anything to say about it.

"I'm going to see the test done for myself, and if she really is pregnant, I'll need a paternity test as well. I pray that she's not - children are a blessing, but I honestly don't need another one tying us together…but regardless of whether or not she is, regardless of it being mine - I'm not going back there. I don't feel some false sense of responsibility that I need to live up to, Sam…I want more than that. I want back what I'm finding out I had… _with you_."

When she erected the walls instantly, Jason retracted a bit. "Don't worry - I'm not putting pressure on you. I know you're not ready to hear any of this so I'll keep it to myself." He waited for her to look up and meet his eyes, then added sternly, "For now!"

Sam weighed his words and the heavy meaning behind them, rising from the chair when the energy bounced through her. "Yea, well…you should probably get to the hospital to meet your stork before you start making huge declarations to anybody." She moved to pass behind the couch and up the stairs, but came to a stop when he grabbed her hand. She looked down into somber, yet hopeful blue eyes, and for a full minute, no words passed between them, and yet, _everything_ was said.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Elizabeth smiled warmly at Kelly Lee entering the cubicle. She was the happiest she'd been in months, and earlier that morning when the bout of nausea had sent her running for the toilet, she had to wipe the smile off her face that beamed even through the bouts of ensuing vomit.

"Hi Elizabeth. How're you feeling?"

"Never better, Kelly! Jason and I are about to have another baby and it's the best thing that's happened to me in so long!"

Kelly smiled at her friend worriedly. She knew how much she loved Jason Morgan and how happy she'd been engaged to him, but she also knew where Jason's heart really laid. She'd seen that man when he was married to Sam before, and it was the happiest she'd ever seen Jason Morgan, after knowing them all for years and knowing much of the backstory that went with their triangle.

"Listen, I'm happy for you. I know how much Jason means to you and how badly you want a family with him, but Elizabeth, I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't caution you to be careful. Things haven't exactly worked out the way you thought they would. Are you sure you want go down this road now?"

Elizabeth patted her friend's hand reassuringly. "You worry too much Kelly. Jason loves me, and he's a little confused right now because everything's just unfolding on him too fast, but once he knows about this baby, everything will change. You remember how he was with Jakey, don't you? The second he found out I was pregnant, he proposed to me. Even when he knew Jakey could've been Lucky's. He didn't care - he loved me and wanted to give me everything. He's going to feel the same way about this baby - I know he is. That's just who Jason is."

A knock sounded and the man of the hour popped through the curtain, where he paused to meet the curious looks sent his way.

"Jason! I'm so glad you made it - you're just in time!"

Jason looked from one to the other and he knew he'd been the topic of conversation. "Actually, I'll just wait out here." He jerked his head in the direction of the small lounge outside the cubicles.

"Okay - I'll meet you there in a few minutes." The beam on her face echoed in her voice and she was practically bouncing off the table as Kelly got her arm ready to draw the blood.

Jason looked at how happy she was and his heart sank. She wouldn't beam so bright unless she was absolutely certain she'd trapped him again.

An hour later they were both seated in the waiting area, anxiously awaiting Kelly's return from the lab, where she'd placed a rush on the samples. They were each locked in their separate lines of thought after Jason had shut down each attempt at conversation. Fine by her if he didn't really feel like talking…while he sat there being Jason, she'd fine-tune her strategy. He'd change his tune once Kelly gave them the good news, and then it would be like taking candy from a baby to make the paternity test she's sure he'd insist on, say what she wanted it to. Jason would never stay away after finding out she was pregnant again - he'd proven that over and over with Jake.

Jason's knees were bouncing beneath the elbows that braced him as he waited impatiently across from the woman who'd turned into someone he didn't know anymore. He looked at her and remembered a time when they could talk about anything, how she had been there as his friend, and even saved his life a couple times. He always felt he owed her for that and had always tried to do everything he could to repay her kindness…but that woman had morphed into something else completely. He barely recognized her anymore and prayed to God he hadn't just shot himself in the foot yet again. Jake was more than enough of a tie to her…he needed another one like he needed a bullet through the kneecap. There was no way he could ask Sam to live through that nightmare time again - not after everything they'd made it through and the beautiful place they were headed now, despite it being somewhat reluctant on her part. If there was a God, this woman would never bear his seed again.

Kelly turned the corner and pursed her lips, her eyes quickly shifting from one then the other, as Jason slowly stood to face her. Elizabeth leapt to his side and grabbed his arm eagerly, ignoring the tension it created in his jaw. "Tell us Kelly. We're dying to hear the good news confirmed."

Kelly looked at her friend sadly, knowing she was breaking her own heart by blindly ignoring everything else in front of them all.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I know how much you want to be…but you're not pregnant."

Jason felt his heart pounding from his chest when the cool relief washed him through and through, and for the first time in his life, he felt like he could've kissed Kelly Lee!

"Wh-what?" Elizabeth's smile crashed as she stared at her friend. "No, Kelly - you made a mistake! I'm pregnant, I know I am! You made a mistake!"

Kelly shook her head as she hugged the iPad to her chest. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I know how much you wanted this so I had the lab test it again. You're not pregnant…both the urine and blood tests confirm it."

"But that's not possible! I've been sick to my stomach every morning this week and I can feel the changes in my body! No, Kelly…you're wrong! Test it again!"

"I don't need to. You're a nurse, Elizabeth - you know that manifestation is very real. People have been known to have physical symptoms of something that's not really happening to them. You are not pregnant."

Jason started to back away from them, edging towards the elevator. "I have to go. Dr. Lee, **_thank you_**." He tried to turn to leave but was stopped when the needy woman clutched his arm desperately.

"Jason, no - don't go! The test is wrong - I'm carrying your child! You can't leave us - we need you!"

"Elizabeth, you heard the doctor. I'm going to choose to believe her." He eased her fingers from their grasp on his arm and backed further away.

Nikolaus had heard enough. Emerging from where he'd hidden to listen in after seeing he curious trio deep in discussion, his hurt voice got their attention when he demanded answers.

"I'm sorry - I saw you here with Dr. Lee so I was curious…Elizabeth, there was a possibility you could've been pregnant and you didn't tell me? You didn't think I had a right to know?"

Suddenly the air had gotten even thinner still, and Elizabeth clutched at imaginary pearls, as she faced an upset Cassadine, who was crushing her overturned apple cart. "Nikolaus!" Where had he appeared from? "I'm sorry - I needed to confirm the news first before I started sharing it with friends." Please God, let him not say anything!

Nikolaus didn't know what type of game she was playing now but it was high time she stopped hurting herself this way, and as her friend, he felt it was his duty to help her. " _Friends_ , yes…potential father, no! I had a right to know that I could've fathered a child with you."

The dead silence that followed his statement was broken only when Jason moved purposely to the exit.

"I really do need to go." Moving swiftly, he bypassed the elevators and practically ran for the stairs, urgently needing to get to Sam…she needed to know right away. The sound of his name being yelled, echoed farther and farther away when the door closed behind him and he pounced the stairs two at a time to get to the lobby, unable to remember a time in his life when he'd ever been more relieved.


	27. Chapter 27

"Stop, Elizabeth - he's gone!" Nikolaus grabbed hold of his friend to stop her from chasing after Jason's rapidly retreating form, coming to a halt near the elevator.

Snatching her hand away in frustration, Elizabeth sniped angrily, "What did you think you were doing? Why would you let Jason believe I was sleeping with you?"

"You did sleep with me - I didn't make that up. The real question you should be asking is why do you insist on torturing yourself over a man who's obviously moved on? When will you stop this nonsense?"

"My life is not _nonsense_ , Nikolaus! You may have just cost me the love of my life, and I need him! Why can't people understand that and leave us alone?"

He was genuinely surprised. He'd had no idea she was this far gone, and it really worried him. "Since when is Jason Morgan the love of your life? I was always under the impression that particular honor belonged to my brother…remember Lucky? The man who was an actual father to your children? The one who practically worshipped the ground you walked on, until he was made rudely aware that you made mistakes too? Jason Morgan was nothing more than a fling, who almost ruined your life - why are you so fixated on him?"

Storming to the elevator that opened just then, Elizabeth was prepared to leave the discussion behind her, except that Nikolaus followed right behind and continued to hound.

"You made a mistake that resulted in you and Jason sharing a child, and as much as that is a lifetime bond, it doesn't make him the love of your life. I'm sorry, Elizabeth, but I can't let you continue to harm yourself this way." Reaching for his cellphone, Nikolaus dialed a number, "I should've done this a while ago."

"Who are you calling?" Sickeningly, she knew the answer before he confirmed a few seconds later.

"Lucky, this is your brother. Call me as soon as you can - it's urgent!"

" _Lucky_? You called Lucky? What am I, five? What's Lucky going to do - send me to my room without supper?"

"No, but I'm hoping he can talk some sense into you where I'm obviously failing! Your children need you to start acting like the responsible adult in their lives once again, and if you won't listen to me, your ex-husband and father of your children, may have better luck."

"Lucky is not the only father they have. Jake is Jason's, so I have every right to want to put my family back together. If you were really my friend, you'd understand that and you'd help me, not rat to the guy who hasn't bothered to see them in years."

"Actually, isn't Lucky the father of record for Jake? I seem to remember my brother taking on Jason Morgan's responsibility, when he was too _busy_ playing mob, to do it himself, ducking out on you and Jake and ripping my cousin's heart out in the process…amnesia affording him the opportunity to act like a parent for a year, doesn't make up for the nine that he missed. Take your rose colored glasses off and see that thug for who he is, finally."

"You don't know anything about Jason and me - none of you do! He's been there in ways you wouldn't ever understand and he's being led around by your trashy cousin right now, but he'll be back." She rested her hand on their baby and took a deep breath. It didn't matter what Kelly's test said - she _knew_ she was pregnant! Her body had never lied to her before, and when she started to show, she'd prove them all so very wrong…and once she explained that one, desperate, lonely afternoon with Nikolaus to Jason, he'd forgive her and come home. Her man was never one to shirk his responsibilities, and he'd see that it only happened because she'd missed him so much.

Nikolaus was exasperated with her but he loved her too. The fact that she couldn't see what was right in front of her…what she could have…

"Don't you know that I would do anything for you? You don't need him - I'm right here, Eliz…" The elevator doors sprung open to the lobby and Elizabeth rushed out, quickly scanning the area in hopes that he was still in the building, her heart shirking seeing that he'd truly gone. Dammit!

"Let me take you home." He tried to take her elbow, which she promptly dislodged from his hold.

"I'm fine." Her huffy response was aimed to get rid of him, but he refused to leave.

"You're not fine. You're hurting and you just had a shock - let me take you home."

Before she could answer, her phone rang, wrangling a secret smile when she turned it over in her hand to view the screen. She'd been waiting a long time for him to call. Turning her back to Nikolaus to walk to the lobby windows, she whispered, "I've been waiting to hear from you. I hope this means you're ready to take me up on my offer?"

"That depends. How close can you really get me to her, and what will you need in return for helping me?"

"As close as you'd like, and consider it on the house. Anything for a friend."

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Franco knew he was running out of opportunities. After the close call with Jason Morgan on New Years, when he knew the man had come seriously close to murdering him right there in the middle of the streets, he'd known he needed to move his agenda up. Elizabeth Webber had captured his interest and sidelined him for a minute, but then she'd proven much too easy. He needed more of a challenge, and none was greater than the one who'd gotten away.

Samantha Morgan had a mouthpiece on her and everytime they ran into each other, she'd found it necessary to unleash on him, but Franco wasn't put off by it - no, no he certainly hadn't found it bothersome. It was exactly what he needed to excite him once again and keep him looking forward to their next encounter.

He moved around the boat purposely, making sure it was ready for his guest. Being that she was a woman of the water, he needed to be sure he was well prepared, in the event she happened to escape the restraints at any point. He would grab her tonight and they would be at sea before anyone even knew she was missing. After following her for days, he knew her routine down pat, and with Jason Morgan ticking around him like a silent time bomb, there was no time like the present.

Sam was walking from her mother's house, where she had just left Danny to the doting of his grandparents, heading towards the SUV, when her phone beeped. Not recognizing the number, she read the curious text twice before replying, "Who is this?"

Stopping with her hand on the door handle, she read the quick response with the referral from a nurse whom she'd helped to identify the coworker her husband had been cheating with, at the same hospital where they all worked, right under her nose. Agreeing to meet by the docks in the next few minutes, Sam climbed in and sent another text to Jason, who'd called her three times already. Letting him know that she was working and would talk later, Sam eased the SUV out of the parking space and sighed, knowing fully well that she was just avoiding hearing about the latest Morgan to be. No doubt the pregnancy had been confirmed and he felt an obligation to tell her the news himself…but she'd rather spend her afternoon without that familiar bit of news to mar it.

A few minutes later, she pulled up to the docks and walked towards the pier, where the new prospect had chosen to meet. It wasn't an unusual spot - most people who hired their services relished the cloak and dagger to keep their anonymity. At least this was a public place, in the middle of a Friday afternoon. It appeared she'd gotten there first, as no one else was on the bench in question. Looking around for any sign of activity, Sam noted the cargo being unloaded nearby with the only other people there, then checked her phone again for the time. She'd give it another five minutes before she left to keep her appointment with the next client.

Taking a seat on the bench, Sam thought about how good the new ads had been for business, drumming up more clients in one month than they'd had all the previous year, keeping her too busy to dwell on the state of her personal life, or lack thereof…just the way she liked it. At this pace, she'd have to take on some more help very soon.

"Should've thought of this ages ago!"

The sudden prick to her neck came out of nowhere, in tangent with the hairs on her nape that stood on end, just as she'd had a sense to look behind her. Clapping a gloved hand to the sting, Sam turned her head to find her vision instantly blurring, shimmering the man making his way around the bench to her side, into a distorted image of…

"Fran-Franco?" He sat next to her and she tried to move her hand to shove him from her side but it fell like lead, limp and heavy, setting off tiny alarms to her brain. "What…what did you do to me?"

"Oh, Sam, Sam, Sam! You and I have had this dance on our card for awhile now. We have some unfinished business you and I, and this time, we've got all the time in the world to see it through."

Her mind was telling her to fight, to stay awake…but her slugging body wasn't cooperating. As the fog set in and swarmed her cooly, Sam could feel when she was hoisted to her feet and propelled forward, her head coming to rest on a hard surface, as the blackness slowly took over.

Elizabeth could not believe her luck. She'd finally ditched Nikolaus and gone to the pier to meet Ian, when she turned the corner just in time to get a shock, jarring enough to rival the one she'd had earlier that day. Franco Baldwin was boarding a boat, with no other than little miss perfect all wrapped up in his arms, her head resting on his chest and an arm draping his neck like they were long lost lovers! What the hell! She knew the woman was a well known harlot who ran through all the men in town, but she'd been putting on the biggest act, pretending that she hated Franco more than anyone in the world! Everyone in town thought they were bitter enemies, yet here there were, boarding a boat in the middle of the afternoon, at a time when Jason was running around looking for her, no less.

Breaking her phone out, Elizabeth snapped some quick shots, then sped up the dock stairs to go find Jason. Ten minutes later, she located him at the penthouse where she knew he'd be, no doubt waiting for the woman to return from her tasteless tryst.

"Elizabeth! Why would you come here?"

Brushing past him and ignoring the angry part of her that wanted to demand to know why **_he_** was answering the door like he lived there, she decided to play nice instead.

"I knew you'd end up here, and Jason, you need to know that those tests were wrong. I know I'm pregnant, I know it! I have an appointment to see a different doctor over at Mercy - I don't know what's going on at GH, but I don't trust that lab to tell us the truth anymore."

"This is why you're barging into Sam's home? Shouldn't you be sharing this information with _Nikolaus,_ instead of me?"

"There is no need for you to be jealous of Nikolaus - it happened **_one_** time, and only because I was in a vulnerable place from you rejecting me, yet again. There's no way this baby's Nikolaus' - I was already pregnant by then."

"According to Dr. Lee, you're not pregnant at all, so this conversation is pretty pointless, don't you think? I also don't appreciate having it in Sam and Danny's home, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

She tried to ignore the hurt she felt at his indifference. "You're always so concerned about Sam and what she feels - it's too bad she doesn't give a damn about you!"

Jason pulled the door open further, using his hand to indicate she should leave. "It's time to go. Now."

Elizabeth joined him at the door and smiled smugly with the confidence of someone in the know. "I'm going to be the bigger person, who won't turn my back when you need me…and you're going to need me…right now!"

When she held her phone out to him, Jason wanted to refuse to give in to her latest play, but he needed to get her out of Sam's home. The quicker he played her game, the sooner he'd get her to leave. Taking the phone from her, he stared at the screen in disbelief.

"Where did you get these?"

"Where do you think?"

He looked at her angrily, as he grabbed for the jacket where he'd thrown it over the back of the chair. "When was this Elizabeth?"

"Surely you're not trying to go after her! Jason, for crying out loud, she's playing you! Why would you give her the satisfaction of making an even bigger fool of you, by confronting her with her lover?"

" _Lover?_ " His anger was boiling, and she was fast joining Franco Baldwin at the root of it. "Sam is in trouble - you didn't see that?"

"She looked pretty cozy to me - all snuggled up with the man she's going around telling people raped her. She'd have you believe she hates him, when…"

"Shut up for one second and stop listening to yourself whine! You didn't notice that the man is practically **_carrying_** her?" He was practically shoving her out the front door. "How long ago did you take this?"

The angry, loud tone of his voice frightened and appalled her. Looking at the phone again, she couldn't see what he thought he did. "You're seeing what's not there - she's obviously…"

 ** _"When, Elizabeth?"_**

"Just a few minutes ago…geez, you don't have to bite my head off!

Jason shoved the button for the basement and barked, "Get the next one," leaving her standing there with her mouth open at the ire and quiet panic rolling off him.

"You're just going to leave me here?"

She watched the doors close as he jabbed relentlessly at the button, then wondered why he needed to go to the basement. Staring at the phone again, she looked hard for what he thought he saw, finally noticing the limp look about her from her shoulders to her legs, the way they seemed to drag and her head seemed to loll, rather than rest. Oh my God, could he really be right? She knew he was. Despite how much she hated the woman, she knew something wasn't right about what she'd seen. Had the need to victimize herself made her blind to another woman at the hands of a predator? Thinking of that strange moment on New Years when he'd given her the creeps, refusing to take her home and insisting he had something to show her instead…she'd always had the feeling that Jason ramming the car with his truck had saved her that night. Maybe the woman was really in trouble this time.

She thought about it as she caught the elevator to the lobby, realizing that she didn't have enough in her to care. Anything happening to her at that moment was something she brought on herself. She probably even engineered it so Jason would be forced to have to rescue her…again!

Jason couldn't make the SUV go fast enough. After a quick run to the gun wall in the basement, he was on his way to the docks, frantic that he could be too late. He'd seen enough from the photo to know where to look, but the bastard could've taken her anywhere on the open water by then. One thing he knew…no matter where he took her, he would find her…and when he did, Franco Baldwin was a dead fucker!

Sam knew she was in trouble. Try as she might she couldn't make her body respond to her brain, a brain that was groggy and out of sequence as it screamed at her to do something. She tried to lift an arm, but it barely stirred where it rested at her side on the bed, a bed that was heaving back and forth. She was on the water. How did she get there? Where was she headed?

"You're fighting even now aren't you? I can see it on your face…" She felt the trace of fingers she guessed were from a voice that sounded heavy and slurred, and when it sounded again, she tried with everything in her to concentrate on one word at a time.

"Don't worry - I'll make sure we're not interrupted. You and I started something a long time ago that we never got to finish. I took the liberty of getting you a room on the water - see how thoughtful I can be?"

The garbled voice had a tinge of the familiar and even in it's stupor, her brain was setting off warning bells of imminent danger. Feeling powerless to protect herself in any way, Sam fought the fog that drowned her, desperately trying to grab a moment of clarity. You're in danger! You are not safe! The deepest echoes of her gut moved outward to attempt the lift of a hand again, failing once more to make contact, much less swing a mighty blow that would protect her against…who?

"There, there little one. Don't fight it so. You'll probably like it - a woman like you who's been around a time or two, will appreciate what I have to offer." Franco laid himself out on the small bed and brushed her ear with his lips as he whispered, "You might even like it a helluva lot more than Jason's. That Borg has no idea how to handle a wild mare like you, does he, Samantha?"

She tried to yell at him to get away from her, but all that sounded was a low, moaning groan. What was wrong with her?

Deftly unbuttoning the black shirt that covered a delicious bosom, Franco let his eyes drink in the beauty before him. He'd seen her naked in the shower many years ago, and she was as beautiful now as she'd been then, only, unlike that night when he had a schedule to keep, he now had all the time in the world to enjoy her, over and over again.

"What the…" Out of nowhere, the sound of an engine running alongside the anchored boat took his attention from his captive, sending him jumping from the bed to hurry up top, when the engine died right next to them. Who the hell would interrupt him right now?

Grabbing a flashlight as he passed a tied up raft on his way towards the stern, Franco shone the light over the side to combat the oncoming twilight, finding a speedboat where one shouldn't be. A quick scan showed it was empty, which sent a cold line running down his back. He'd felt that same quick panic before…a similar shiver had run through him when his hands were bound behind him and he was being tossed into the back of an SUV…the very same shiver he'd felt the last time he had two bullets in him and thought he was on his way to meet his maker. But that was impossible. There was no way that he could've found them!

When the shiver rocked him again, he didn't need to hear the cock of the gun behind him or turn around to know who had crashed his party. Closing his eyes in frustrated consternation, Franco cursed beneath his breath, then threw his head back.

"What are you, a blood hound?" Slowly turning to face the gun aimed at his head, he met cold blues eyes on a hard, steely mask. "Oh, look - it's just like dejavu!"

The exploding sound of the gun going off took him by as much surprise as the tearing pain through his shoulder, and when he realized what had happened, he looked in alarm from the stony figure to his bleeding shoulder, back to the gun that had just cocked again.

"Wait! Wait a damn minute, will you? Let's talk about this!" He had miscalculated and used sarcasm, where the gunman was not amused.

"You want dejavu - you got it!" Taking a threatening step closer, Jason yelled, " ** _Where is my wife?"_**


	28. Chapter 28

**_"_** ** _Sam! Are you here?"_**

Jason listened intently, his breath stuck in his throat as he waited for a sound to tell him she was okay. His trigger finger itching to pull back again, he gritted his jaw and ground through fiercely clenched teeth, "Where is she?"

"Sam's not here! What makes you think she'd be anywhere near me?"

The sweat creasing his brow ran as freely as the blood from his shoulder, and Franco's mind raced to form an out. He hadn't anticipated this sudden popup, not here - not out on the water when no one knew where he went, or what he was up to. How the man had found him aboard an expedition boat he only rented that morning and had given no indication of the course he'd sail, was curious.

Jason didn't know what shape Sam would be in, and the uncertainty was killing him. He couldn't kill the man before he knew what he'd done with her…just in case…but nothing was stopping him from wrenching the answers from him, piece by piece, by itty bitty piece!

"There are worse things I can do than kill you! I'm not going to keep asking… ** _where is she!_** "

The minute Franco started shaking his head and opened his mouth to repeat the previous lie, the sound of another shot rang out, this time wrenching a blood curdling scream from his belly, when the bullet tore through his left ear, ripping it clean off, sending warm blood to clog the drum when he grabbed it in agony. Taking a wild lunge forward, he slipped on something gooey and slick, losing his bearings to tumble unceremoniously to the deck of the boat, as his predator circled him slowly.

Jason didn't care how loudly he screamed - there was no one there to hear him. What he cared about was finding Sam. Reaching inside his pocket for a zip tie, he quickly cinched the hand not clinging to the man's missing ear, tightly, purposely cutting off circulation, before he secured it to the boat's railing and ran down the small steps to search below.

" ** _Sam!_** " He listened after calling for her, racing frantically from one small quarter to the next, his heart thumping with each empty one. "Answer if you can hear me, **_Sam_** _!_ "

At first there was no sound, then the faint grunt reached him from the back, and his feet quickened in response. With his gun still at the ready, Jason kicked the door open and burst in swinging, on guard…listening as his eyes accustomed to the darkened interior. The sound again alerted him to her, just as his eyes made out her form on the small bed, struggling to sit up. With his heart beating out of his chest at the sight of her, Jason tore to the bed and tucked his gun inside his belt, kneeling to hold and scoop her up into his arms. Relief, anger, disgust, overwhelming love and protectiveness, soared within him, and he instantly wanted to kill Franco again and again and again, the sight of her open shirt boiling his already heated blood to unreachable levels, launching excruciating memories of her pain from his last vile assault. That sickening, degenerate, son-of-a-bitch had tried again!

"Sam!" The broken sound of his voice reminded Jason that he needed to get her out of there. "I've got you…I've got you!" Folding her into his arms, he stood to his feet, cradling her lovingly to his chest, bouncing her softly, reassuringly, as he whispered against her head tuckered into him, "I've got you!"

Making his way back to the deck, Jason carefully laid Sam out on the padded bench and stroked her cheek softly. "Take a breath, Sam…deep breath…that's it…I've got you!" The fresh salt air was doing the trick, and Jason started to breath again when she whispered his name.

" _Jason!_ "

"Yes, it's me…I'm right here. You're okay now!"

But she wasn't okay. She looked pale and groggy as she struggled to open lids that appeared too heavy. He needed to get her to a hospital.

"Jason - Jason, I swear, I don't know how she got there! She must've snuck aboard when I was't looking - she's a stowaway - that's it, that's it - she stowed away and I had no idea!"

"What did you give her?" Storming angrily to the man sitting crosslegged in a pool of red on the deck, muttering through obvious blood loss, Jason knelt to grab him by the front of the shirt and yank his head up. "What did you shoot her up with?"

The slow, insane laugh that ensued, angered him to where he started to reach for the gun at his back so he could finish the evil bastard, but then he had a different idea. Maybe he'd bleed to death right there in his own stench, but unless he did, he'd stay right there until he was ready to dispose of him. He needed to take care of Sam. He had to get her to a hospital.

Moving swiftly back to her side, Jason checked her pulse to find it beating erratically, and she still struggled to get her bearings.

"It's okay, Sam - I'm taking you to a hospital."

"No!"

The sound was low but it was adamant, giving Jason the first real relief since he'd boarded, the first signs that she was somewhat aware.

"I have to - I don't know what he gave you." He stroked the hair back from her face and studied the pupils he could now see. "I can't let anything happen to you, okay?" The choked up sound of this own voice rattled him, and he needed to make sure she'd be okay.

"No." She repeated the word in what he knew she hoped was a forceful way, but it only sounded as weak as she appeared. "Fine."

"You're not fine…you can barely open your eyes and your speech is slurred Sam. I can't be sure that what he gave you isn't lethal."

Sam tried to shake her head, but it barely moved, so she tried speaking again, even though it was oh so hard.

"Wearing…off." She could feel her mind clearing, the ability to form words again, welcomed greatly. "Fine."

Jason knew that she wasn't fine, but he had to admit that she was slowly looking slightly better than before. She was moving more and she knew he was there…but he still didn't like the idea of not getting her aid right away. Taking her hand to rest against his lips, he kissed it softly and swallowed against the huge lump in his throat.

"You're the mother of my son…Danny and I need you, Sam. I can't let anything happen to you, do you understand me? I need to make sure you're okay, so I have to take you…"

He felt the soft squeeze to the hand that held hers, and knew she was trying to talk through touch too. She was so stubborn. He knew why she wasn't ready to go yet, and part of him understood it because he'd feel the exact same way…but she was asking him to take chances with her health…to risk the possibility of her not making it home to them when it turned out the sick freak had given her something lethal that was eating its way through her as they spoke. She was asking too much of him.

She was struggling to sit up, so he gently helped her into a half sitting position on the bench, his eyes locked to hers that were now pleading with him, and when she cleared her throat, he could hear the strength raking back into the voice that spoke again.

"He's… _mine!_ "

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He closed the laptop softly and leant back in the chair, his hand coming to rest at his chin as his mind raced with recently learned information. His brother's message had gotten his immediate attention, prompting an instant return call where he was met with surprise after surprise, learning that the woman who he'd once thought was the greatest mother in the world, the best wife a man could want, and the gentlest soul born on this earth, had gotten even worse than he'd known in the time her actions had practically driven him out of town.

Lucky Spencer knew he'd never win any awards for parent of the year…he proved that when he listened to that incessant call in his soul to hit the road to find that wild, adventurous drifter that lived within him, leaving the boys he loved dearly, to try to find himself. He used to think he could never leave his children…that being their dad was everything he was cut out to be…but then he'd also thought that about being Elizabeth's husband too…and that was a huge farce. He Skyped with his boys frequently, and ensured they knew he loved them always, but he hadn't been able to take himself back to Port Charles, not even for them. Mostly because he thought they were in good hands with Elizabeth and Jake Doe, later learned to be Jason Morgan. When his brother had told of the reveal, and that Jason had chosen to stay and marry Elizabeth and raise the boys together, he'd been a little bit surprised, given he knew of the man's feelings for his wife…but he also wasn't…because he also knew of Jason Morgan's integrity and sense of commitment, and he knew of his searing regrets about not raising Jake before.

But what Nikolas had just imparted today was a definite game changer. It sounded to him like Elizabeth was near another breakdown unless something was done. At first he thought about talking to her grandmother, about pleading with Audrey to get the nurse to see what she was doing before it was too late, but then he realized what it was that he really needed to do. Those boys needed their father. They needed for him to step in and make their world right again, and since he hadn't even bothered to go home for so much as Christmas, in years, he knew this trip would be interesting…but it was more than necessary.

Lucky rose from the chair and grabbed a duffle from the closet in the cozy one-room flat. He had only four hours to throw some things together and catch the flight he'd just booked to Port Charles.

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Elizabeth paced her living room in a huffy trance, angry at everything and everyone involved in ruining her day and her life once again…Kelly, for reading the stupid tests wrong - the incapable lab techs for getting it wrong to begin with - Nikolas, for butting his princely nose in her business, where it didn't belong - Franco Baldwin, for painting a target on the woman's back that put her in a position where Jason felt he needed to rescue her again - Sam bitch _Morgan,_ for existing - Jason, for acknowledging her existence - Grams, for trying to tell her how to raise her boys, like doing everything in her power to get their father home wasn't the thing they needed most. Everybody and their mother had an opinion on her life and how she should live it, but the only opinion that mattered to her, was that of the man who was the only father she wanted for her boys.

After dropping by Mercy and getting a second test done that day, she'd been thrown further into a world of disappointment, when their lab confirmed what GH had earlier that same day…she wasn't pregnant! But how could that be? She was nauseous even now! No…they were wrong too!

Growling angrily with bottled up frustration, she grabbed the nearest vase and heaved it at the wall, screaming out loud with the shattering sound that bounced back at the angry pieces landing everywhere. Why was **_nothing_** going the way it was supposed to?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam sat up from the bench slowly, feeling the boat's slow rocking as her feet planted firmly to the deck. Still taking deep breaths of the fresh, night sea air, she glared across to the man still secured to the railing, his mumbling almost indecipherable now. At her side, she could feel the soft rage that boiled in the man who'd come for her, and while she knew he was more than willing to do what needed to be done, she had to be the one to do it.

She stood to her feet and walked to him, her eyes riveted on the missing ear and the pool of clotted blood he swam in, and she felt the satisfaction creeping in. Looking all around them at the calm sea, Sam was glad to see no lights of any vessel anywhere near. Good. They were completely alone.

Franco looked up when she approached, the image of a graceful cheetah, hungry and flanked by her rabid mate, forming in his mind as he watched their approach. He'd accepted for hours now, that he'd never see shore again - not this time. He'd been sloppy to get caught, and he knew even before tonight, that if he ever got caught hurting Samantha Morgan again, he'd never live to see the following day. This was that day.

Forcing a grin he definitely didn't feel, he met her cold eyes as she came to a stop in front of him. "Sam, seductive Sam…we could've had a real party you and I, you know that?"

Anger bubbling within her, Sam burned at the image of herself spread out on his bunk, drugged and delirious out of her mind once again at the hands of the sick fuck, and she knew how she wanted him to suffer. Ripping open the shirt Jason had gently rebuttoned on her, Sam leered down at the snarl.

"Is this what you want? Take a good look…this is what you wanted all along, right?"

"Sam!" Jason didn't like her exposing her body to the creep who'd already seen way, way too much of her, more than once. He reached a hand out to stop her, but she reached one back to signal him to let her handle it. Reluctantly, Jason backed down to let her do just that. Afterall, retribution was the least she'd earned from the animal.

Kneeling in front of Franco, Sam continued to look at the eyes that seemed strapped to her bosom. "That's right, get your fill, you inadequate pervert!" When he broke the gaze and met her eyes, she told him coldly, "I'll never believe that you didn't rape me. Thank God, I was already pregnant with Jason's baby…but I believe with everything in me that you doctored that stupid tape to fit your sick agenda." She paused for a heavy moment, then nodded slowly, "Yeah…you raped me in Hawaii alright."

"Is that what you're telling yourself to justify what you're doing to me? This is wrong, Sam…you know it's wrong to keep me locked up and bleeding like this." When her face transformed with a cold, mirthless smile, his heart thumped, sounding louder when she reached towards her left boot and brandished a knife. She'd been armed? If he hadn't sedated her he might've caught a knife in the throat tonight! Swallowing hard at the realization, Franco watched as she raised the deadly weapon towards his face.

"You're absolutely right!"

The next second, she'd used it to snip the zip tie open, his arm falling free to land limply to his leg. Reaching with the other to soothe the red circle now raw, Franco eyed her warily, waiting.

Easing to her feet, Sam flowed with the renewed surge of power and angry energy, urging the man to stand up. As he rose unsteadily on feet that had grown numb, Sam turned to find Jason closely on guard, ready to react the instant he sensed her in any danger. Their eyes met and when hers shifted to the apparatus near the stern, his followed, then back to her, a silent understanding passing between them that only they heard. Moving to grab Franco by the shirt collar, Jason shoved him roughly towards the cage with the metal bars.

"Thanks for renting a shark watching boat, genius!" Shoving the reluctant man hard until he tumbled inside and Sam clanked the door shut, Jason lowered the gun and stepped aside to give Sam room.

"Something about you in a cage just seems fitting to me!" Her mind was crystal clear as she watched the man who'd been the source of so many nightmares, all those nights when she'd woken in a sweat, feeling filthy and besmirched by his unwanted touch, thinking her son had been sewn from his unwanted seed, dreading the motherhood she'd yearned more than anything, when she thought he would be a part of her child forever. "Have you ever wondered how the ocean looked at night? Below the surface, where the big fish feed? I mean, imagine being the prey, the one on the plate for dinner this time…how long do you suppose a man can last against nature's aquatic hunters?"

"This is ridiculous, Sam…"

"Sharks, for instance, see better at night, did you know that? Their body temperatures are warmer too, and nightfall is when their vision is the most acute! Now, you could argue that there are no sharks in these waters, yes? But then again, we've all seen the news where they've been swimming interestingly closer to shore in recent years…randomly attacking unaware swimmers." She looked to Jason inquiringly, "Matter of fact - wasn't there something on the news last night about a school of sharks spotted out this way earlier in the day?"

"Sam, we can talk about this! I'll leave - I'll leave town and you'll never see me again."

She was trailing a finger along the rail of the boat, not even looking at him…her voice relaying a calm that shook him to the core.

"They've been known to get stuck in small bays during low tide, I bet you didn't know that! But hey, sharks gotta eat too!

"What are you doing?" He rattled the door of the cage but it remained shut against his pushing. "Open this thing and let me out!" When she made no move, he looked frantically to the man standing guard. "Jason, Jason - come on - you're bigger than this! We handle things face to face - not like this!" Panicking eyes followed Sam's retreating back, where she headed to the controls. "Sam, stop this! You don't want to do this. I didn't touch you, I swear! I just wanted Jason to hurt like he hurt me! He rejected me when all I wanted was a lousy minute - he deserved to lose everything!" The damn thing was being hoisted in the air and swung over the side of the boat, swinging from its tethered chain that rattled as it moved. "Sam, come on! Shoot me again…Jason tell her…you'll gladly shoot me again!" The splatting sound made by the metal box hitting the waves, scared him as much as the cold water that washed over the bottom. It had paused! She'd stopped the descent! "You don't have to do this, Sam! I wasn't going to hurt you - it was just a warning to Jason cause he was coming after me again. I just wanted to tell him that if he left me alone, I'd leave you all alone - that's all! I wouldn't touch you, I swear!"

Jason pointed to the cage and nodded at the man, "I'd put that scuba gear on, if I were you. Maybe you'll be lucky and it has enough air to last til somebody comes along to bring you back up."

His eyes falling to the floor of the cage, Franco saw the gear he hadn't noticed before, and when the box started sinking again, he gave up begging for something he knew he wouldn't get. She meant to drown him, and he was going down into that cold, dark water whether he liked it or not. Using his good arm, he hurried to fix the oxygen over his nose and stick the tube in place.

"I almost forgot…" Sam walked steadily to the railing and took the gun from Jason's hand, pointing at the frantic man. "Sharks like their meat fresh - best give them a trail so they can find it soon." The shot sounded and Franco gritted his teeth against the pain, almost going numb by now, as fresh blood seeped from the nicked artery when her perfect aim found his right leg. He opened his mouth to call her again, the sound getting stuck in his throat as frightened eyes followed her back to the controls, where she lowered him the rest of the way into waters that heaped past his shoulders to cover him, as the cage slowly fell to the depths below.

It was cold, cold and so, so dark, and the last coherent sound he heard before his mind threatened to lose its grip on reality, was the click that released the door lock. He grabbed hold of the bar and started to push it open…maybe he could still swim with a bullet in one leg and one good arm…people had been known to survive with less, when the need was great. Then something _huge_ moved close to him and he snapped the gate back closed, just as his eyes met a turning dual glow that sank his heart to the soles of his feet, announcing to Franco Baldwin that he'd _officially_ been made into fish bait.


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you a blessed and fulfilling 2018!**_

"You really came!" Elizabeth gaped at the man she hadn't seen in person in years, hating on sight how lean and refreshed he looked, as though the years had simply gleaned off him and left him unscathed. "You shouldn't be here!"

"Hello, Elizabeth." She looked the same as always to him - beautiful and angelic. But there was something hard and sinister there too now. What had happened to her? "May I come in?"

She'd rather slam the door in his unreliable face and send him straight back to wherever-the-hell he flew in from…but her boys would never forgive her.

"Suit yourself. The boys will be happy to see you at least." Turning her back to walk away from the open door and his hard scrutiny, she pulled the sweater close around her and returned to the laundry she'd been folding.

Moving cautiously into the uninviting space, Lucky followed, glancing towards the stairs before he came to a stop before her. "Speaking of…where are they?"

"Where they're supposed to be the middle of a school day…which you'd know if you gave a damn how they lived." Huffily, she folded a pair of Aiden's shorts and stomped it on the pile growing on the sofa in front of her.

Refusing to allow himself to be pulled into a fight that would sway from his purpose, Lucky took a slow breath and nodded. "You're right…I haven't been here…but that changes now."

"Why exactly _are_ you here?"

"Nikolas thought you could use my help, and I think he's right. How've you been, Elizabeth?"

"Just swell - cant you tell? Nikolas had no business calling you - you're not here to _help_ me, you're here to control me…like you have any say in how I live my life!"

Lucky moved to take a seat opposite her, noting the bite in her voice that appeared at war and the haunting look of her eyes. The sweet girl he'd loved so long ago was long, long gone, and the woman he'd admired who he thought took her place, was nowhere in sight either.

"Maybe not - but I have a say in my sons' lives."

" _Son - singular!_ " Elizabeth snarled and looked angrily at him. "Aiden is yours biologically, although lord knows not any other way."

"Look - I wasn't expecting you to welcome me with open arms…we've both been living our lives as we see fit…but don't act like my sons are not important to me, because you know they are. Cam and Jake are as much my sons as Aiden is, and that will never change. I'm here to make certain that they're going to be alright."

"Jakey's father is more than capable of ensuring he has everything he needs. We don't need you here, Lucky!"

Looking at her in astonishment, Lucky knew he had hardly any standing…he'd left them to travel the world in search of excitement and adventure, so he had no room to fight. But this was about so much more than just him, so much more than her.

"Jake is as much my son as he was the day Jason gave up all rights to be in his life. I understand things have been different since he came back, but Jason's not here, is he, Elizabeth? So maybe things aren't so different afterall!"

"How dare you?" The zing had found its mark in her chest, reminding her how lonely she was without her fiancé, how much she missed him every day. "At least Jason makes time to be here for Jakey, not traipsing the world in your ridiculous quest to hold onto your fleeting youth. He only gave him up before to protect him, and now Sam is doing everything in her power to keep him away from his family, but it won't work anymore than it did last time…he'll come home! **_Jason_** is his father - not you!"

"I didn't come here to argue with you - I just thought I'd show you the courtesy of letting you know what I'm doing, so you're not blindsided." He put his hands together and sat forward. "I've talked to Alexis, and she's filing a suit on my behalf, as we speak."

"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you talking to a lawyer?"

"I'm doing more than that. I entrusted my sons' care to you because I knew you loved them too much to put anything in front of their welfare - at least, that's what I used to think! From what I'm hearing though, that's become highly questionable, and it's time I let my sons know they can count on me."

"So you're just going to waltz in here, repeating idle gossip and chitchat, after you've left me to parent them alone all this time - and try to take them from me? How dare you?"

"It's way past idle, and you know it! I've been talking to Cam…have you even noticed that he's been unhappy and distant for a long time? Probably not - since he says you only pay attention to Jake. Cam and Aiden practically live at your grandmother's, while you use Jake to bait Jason…what are you doing, Elizabeth? When did our boys become a burden to you?"

 ** _"_** ** _My children are a blessing!"_**

" ** _Then act like it!_** You have **_three_** sons - **_three_**!" His voice raised in pitch as he did. "Three of the most adorable blessings in this world, yet they're being made to feel as though they're an afterthought in everything you're doing, trying to trap a man who isn't interested!"

The slap that sounded against his face when she leered, then whipped back in anger, was a bit of a surprise to him. He knew she had a temper and a flare for the dramatic, but her weapon was usually tears, not violence. She could cry up a storm and blubber through a teary fit better and quicker than anyone he'd ever known, but he hadn't expected this particular physical reaction.

"You've always been jealous of Jason, and now you're angry that he's around, being the father you should've been. Get out of our house, Lucky…Jason would not want you here. Nikolas should never have called you…and **_I_** don't want you here!"

"I'll leave…but I'm not going further than Spoon Island." He shoved his hands inside his pockets as he moved slowly behind the couch, then stopped. "I'm home now…and I will make sure my children are taken care of." He looked at her one last time, feeling sad for the girl inside the woman he'd once loved more than anybody…sadder still, for who he barely recognized in front of him now. "You'll be hearing from my attorney very soon."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Are you okay?"

" _Yes_ …for the hundredth time that you've asked me!" She pushed against his chest so he'd lower her to the deck of the speedboat, but he still held on till he'd moved to the padded bench so he could lower her gently, then reached inside the covered box next to it for a blanket, that he quickly tucked all the way to her neck.

Sam was watching the fishing boat anchored next to them, thinking she should feel some type of remorse for the life she'd just taken…but quickly finding she was okay with the fact that she didn't.

"You'll never have to look over your shoulder for him again." Jason ran a hand over her blanketed arm and watched the faraway look in her beautiful brown eyes, knowing exactly what she was thinking. It was like a sixth sense, how connected he felt to her! "He should never have been allowed so close to you all this time, taunting and belittling what he did to you and Michael, getting the chance to get this near you…again. I should've done this before he came after you…don't you dare blame yourself for any of it."

She met anxious blue eyes and drew the blanket closer at her neck, sinking further on the bench. "Actually, I was wondering if we shouldn't blow the boat - to get rid of any signs we were ever aboard?"

He relaxed a little and nodded in agreement. "On it! I set a couple charges when I first boarded. I just need to get you out of blast range."

"Wait…what if it's not insured? The owner shouldn't lose everything just because he unknowingly rented to a serpent. Maybe we shouldn't…."

Jason smiled through the worry he was feeling for her. Even with poison coursing her veins and having just escaped being mauled and raped, her concern was for somebody else. "It's covered. Spinelli checked earlier when he helped me track it down."

Sam wasn't surprised. Of course he had a plan to cover their tracks…Jason Morgan never left anything to chance and nobody was ever more prepared. "Okay, good…then blow that sucker!"

After making sure she was tucked and warm beneath the blanket, Jason steered the speedboat towards shore, pausing only long enough to press the detonator in his pocket, before tossing it over the side. He looked back at Sam, watching her as she watched the orange glow against the night, exhaling in relief, still apprehensive about getting her medical attention, despite her protestations. Whether she liked it or not, she was headed straight to get checked out!

He wasn't the least bit surprised when she fought him all the way there, from the dock to the SUV, to the GH parking garage…but her weak objections fell on deaf ears…there was no way he would have a moment's peace before he was certain she was okay.

The moment they were in sight of the nurse's station, Sam spirit took a dive. "Of course!" She eyed the nurse distastefully, "Why are you _always_ here, whenever anyone named Morgan is within a mile of the place? Seriously, don't you have a life of your own? Don't you want one?" She eased up only when she felt a soft pull when Jason rested a hand at her shoulder.

Elizabeth snorted in disgust as she looked at the pint-size who wanted everything she had. "You're _welcome_! Although, if I had known you were being kidnapped, I'd have kept my mouth shut and given Franco time to do us all a favor!"

"Thank you? Bitch, I ought to punch you in the throat for looking the other way when you saw what that rapist was doing to me." And if she wasn't separated from her by the damn desk, and feeling light headed and dizzy, she might still!

"Sam, Jason…what are you two doing here?"

Turning to the sound of his mother's surprise when she emerged from a cubicle to find them in the hall, Jason was washed with relief. Someone who cared about Sam!

"Sam was drugged, Monica. We don't know what it was and how much of it is in her system - can you please help her?"

"Oh, my goodness! Yes, yes, of course!" Monica hurried to take her former daughter-in-law's arm to guide her to a free cubicle, as Jason trailed anxiously behind them, listening to Monica asking Sam's symptoms.

"Jason, I need to talk to you!" When none of them bothered to look back, Elizabeth got louder and more insistent, " ** _Jason!_** "

Monica threw an annoyed look behind them. "Jason, I need to examine Sam alone. Kindly see why Nurse Webber thinks she needs to rouse my entire hospital."

Trying anxiously to squelch the nervous energy wrought in him at the thought of something being wrong with her, Jason allowed his mother to take charge, knowing he could trust her to do whatever was needed to take care of the mother of his child. He was trying to ignore Elizabeth Webber, but she joined his side regardless.

"Jason, this is important - it's about our son!"

He faced her reluctantly, knowing she wasn't above using his son as a pawn, but that's what he had to look forward to - lucky him. Eyeing her silently, he waited for her to begin.

"Lucky's back in town." She paused for a reaction, something that would tell her that the idea of having her ex back in town, her most meaningful relationship, besides him, sparked something that would give her hope…a little jealousy perhaps, some distaste, hatred…anything. But she got nothing but indifference.

"Good for him. I'm sure Aiden will be thrilled to see him."

Okay, well at least that could be something. She rested a hand anxiously on his arm to relay tension, and allowed her eyes to grow big with fear.

"But that's just it - he's not just here about Aiden. Jason, he's trying to take Jake!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, _take Jake?_ "

Finally! This, she could use!

"He's gotten a lawyer - your new girlfriend's mother, didn't she tell you? Sam's trying to help Lucky to take our son away from us!" She gripped his arm tighter and stepped close. "You can't let them do it…you can't let them take our baby!"

Jason was stunned. If what she was saying was true…but then he caught himself, considering the source!

"Okay, Alexis and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but she has no reason to do what you're suggesting. Neither does Lucky. Jake is my son, and nobody is taking him anywhere!"

"You agreed to let Lucky raise him, remember? As far as everyone is concerned, he's Jake's father."

Moving past her so he could get out of her clutches, Jason walked to the window on the far side of the room to stare down at the parking lot. Could she be telling the truth? Could Lucky Spencer be back trying to take his son? And if he was, would he be able to stop him when he was the one who handed him over in the first place?

Elizabeth smirked as she watched him in deep thought. For the first time in ages, his concentration was on their family again, where it belonged. Why hadn't she thought of this? If she'd known Lucky coming back would give her this much of an edge, she'd have sent for him herself, months ago! She was finally winning…Jason was going to fight for them!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"What's wrong?" Sam knew something was off the minute he entered the cubicle after Monica left. "Did your mother tell you something?"

Jason's thoughts were pulling at him from every direction, rendering him unable to be still.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you. No, Monica didn't tell me anything other than what she told us both."

"Then what is it? And don't say nothing - I know you better than that."

"I wasn't going to…I know you do." He knew he could talk to her about anything. "It's Jake."

"What about Jake - is he hurt?"

"No." Jason took a seat on the edge of her bed and rested an arm at his knee. "Lucky's back. He wants to take him."

"Oh."

"Oh?" He didn't like the odd feeling he got from the way she seemed to soften at the mention of the man's name. "What does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything…I'm just a little surprised…never thought we'd ever see him again."

"Well, he's here." More nervous energy sent him to his feet to start pacing again. "He doesn't get my son though! Nobody is taking Jake away from me again."

"That does't sound like Lucky."

There was that feeling again. What was it about her and Lucky that gave him pause and boiled his blood? "You sound awfully sure. Is there something I don't know?"

Sam would've smiled but she knew he wouldn't find it funny. The history between the two men was really nothing to laugh at, and although they were never best friends, there had been a mutual respect that kept them civil, even after the ugly times. She couldn't help the light teasing attempt to soothe him though. "Your memory is shitty, at best…there's a _LOT_ you don't know!"

"Like the fact that she used to fuck my husband, for example!"

Sam and Jason turned to the voice of the nurse entering the cubicle, an iPad in hand as she came to a stop by the monitors and began to record Sam's vitals.

Jason couldn't decide which stunned him more - the filthy words she spoke, or the stillness that overcame Sam. But the nurse wasn't finished.

"Go ahead, _Mrs. Morgan_ …tell my fiancé how much pleasure you took in screwing my husband right out from under me, when you got all bent out of shape with hatred over the conception of our beautiful son."

Sam shifted further into the pillows, a cold smirk working her lips beneath an icy stare. "Poor, poor, little Elizabeth. Really bruised you with that one, didn't I? There you were, with Jason, Lucky, Nikolas - all the men in your tight little niche, worshipping at your dainty, sainted feet - then here comes little ole me…got Lucky to see past that tarnished, chipped ass halo, see that women who didn't require hero worship in order to care about him, actually existed. He came running to my arms, away from you! Would you like me to tell you the things he did to me in my hot tub?"

"You're disgusting!" Elizabeth flashed to Jason. "You see? See how filthy she is? This is who you've chosen to tear our family apart for!"

Sam was feeling relentless and reckless, and she would jab away at the nurse without so much as a look at Jason to see his reaction to hearing the things she spat. "What's the matter Lizzy - still so afraid of me?"

"I was never afraid of a slut like you! You **_never_** deserved to wear Jason's name."

Sam didn't know if it was the drug still churning through her system or just the pleasure she was getting from the woman's misery, but something kept her goading.

"That's what's always killed you, bitch! No matter how many times you thought you had him cornered, it was never quite enough to get you that name…and you want it _bad_ , don't you? Don't feel too bad, you came closer this time than ever before. Too bad you couldn't stop yourself from letting the crazy out before you sealed the deal." She brought her hand up to cover her mouth mockingly. "Oops…my bad…it's not nice to use that term to someone who _actually_ ' _flew over the cuckoos nest_. _'_ Sorry, Nurse Ratched!"

Jason was looking at them both but he wasn't exactly in that room, his mind racing through emotions and images of hot tubs and candles and parks and black and white ball gowns. Sam was angry, so angry and hurtful, and she was hurting everyone, including herself. The woman he'd known to put his needs and feelings before her own had disappeared, taken off for places unknown, leaving in her wake, someone vindictive and mean! She was lashing out at everyone and everything. She would use Lucky to hurt him, because he hurt her deeply. She would use him to torture Elizabeth for lying, for convincing him to lie to her, for using them all. He'd been such an unseeing bastard that he'd even proposed marriage to Elizabeth… _after Sam had taken him back._

"I did those things to you?"

His soft whisper served to anger Elizabeth more, pouring fuel to the fire that burned her. "Don't apologize to her! She did horrible things to our son, hated his existence because she was petty and jealous. She screwed Lucky to get back at me - that's it, knowing fully well we were still married! She's beneath you, Jason!"

"A position I quite enjoy! You remember how hot it is, don't you Lizzy…it's the reason you can't pick your dignity up off the ground and act like an adult, no matter how many times he leaves." Sam laughed dryly, "Listen to you, sounding off like your marriage was of **_any_** import to you, when we all know it didn't mean a damn thing when you were climbing those stairs to trip and fall all over Jason's dick. You sure weren't married to Lucky that night…but the minute his pain from your self-serving betrayal sent him to me, he was your **_husband_** again. You're nothing but a predictable, pretentious, deceitful bitch who deserved every last knife I stuck into your selfish, contemptible heart. Keep pushing me - keep ending up in my face, and one of these days…"

"Jason, are you hearing this - she just threatened my life!" She didn't understand why he wasn't saying anything - just standing there with his eyes glued to the woman like she owned the world. "Do something! She can't be allowed to talk to me like that!"

"Get out!" Sam was tired of talking to her, tired of seeing her when the game lost its zeal. "I don't want you anywhere near me."

"You're a patient - you don't give me orders!"

"No?" Crooking a finger, Sam used it to call the woman over. "Come closer…come on…I dare you!"

"Elizabeth, can you excuse us?"

She looked at Jason in shock. "Stop taking her side, Jason! Why does she always get to…"

"I need to talk to Sam alone." When she wouldn't leave he was frank, "She's right you know…you really shouldn't have anything to do with her care and you should know better. You hate Sam, you shouldn't be here. There are plenty of other nurses on staff."

She slammed the iPad on the tray at the foot of the bed in anger, placing one hand akimbo. "I know how to be professional, Jason…I would never let my personal feelings interfere with the care I give a patient."

"Go tell that to the last Mrs. Lucky Spencer!" Irritated, Sam pulled the IV from her arm and started to sit up. "Get the hell away from me, Nurse Kevorkian - I wouldn't let you touch me if you were the last nurse on this planet!"

"Sam, what are you doing?" Jason tried to stop her movements but hesitated when she flashed him off and threw her feet over the side of the bed.

"I need to see my kid! I've had enough of this delusional bitch's grudge match - I'm outta here!" The room had gotten stuffy, feeling like the life was being sucked out of it. It was a common result from sharing close space with the hated woman.

"Not until a doctor says so." Jason tried again, and this time she allowed him to help steady her as she stood and reached for the jacket on the chair by the bed.

"You heard Monica before, Jason - the drug is working it's way out and it didn't do anything but make me sleepy and lethargic - I'm fine. She wanted me to sleep it off here but I can do that just as well at home." Glaring at the nurse as she pulled her jacket on, Sam continued, "At least there, I won't be one step away from stabbing your pet bitch in her bug eye."

She cursed beneath her breath when her legs wobbled and gave way with the second step towards the door, and just as she braced, ready to feel hard marble rise up to meet her, strong arms circled her instead, hugging her solidly to his side.

"God, you're so stubborn!"

"No more than you! You don't like this place either, so why would you want to force me to?"

She had an arguable point. There wasn't a day he'd spent in the dreaded place that he hadn't plotted his escape.

"Fine. I'll take you home, but only if Monica says it's okay, so let's go find her."

"Jason, what about Jake? We have to stop Lucky from taking our son."

"I'll deal with that, but there's nothing I can do about it tonight, is there?"

"Yes, there is! You can refuse to let her lead you around by the nose for one more minute - you know who she really is!"

But what Jason refused to do was let the vixen at his side down one more time. Looking at the stubborn face, gritting against the dizziness she was obviously fighting, he told her sternly, "We're going to find Monica and get her okay to take you home…and the minute you start feeling like yourself again, you and I are going to talk."

With a groan, Sam lowered her eyelids and gripped his jacket tightly, knowing the night was about to be a lot longer than she'd anticipated, but not the least bit sorry about the conversation that had landed her here. Tric deserved it!


	30. Chapter 30

The sweet aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted past her nostrils and stirred her awake. Stretching into a yawn, Sam allowed her eyes to filter open to the grey, wet day outside the window of her bedroom.

"Morning."

Startled to hear she wasn't alone, her eyes roamed to find the source of the voice in the armchair near the bed and a steaming black mug held in her direction. Suddenly self conscious, Sam reached for the blanket, but found it was bundled beneath her feet where she'd pushed it off her. Looking down, she was relieved to find pajamas in place, but her cheeks burned in the next minute when she couldn't remember putting them on.

"Morning."

Jason got up from the chair and sat on the side of the bed, releasing the cup once she'd gotten a grip.

"I thought you only drank that Corinthos brew…what's this Blue Mountain Peak stuff in your kitchen?"

Sam inhaled deeply then took a heavenly swallow of the warm, delicious darkness. "It was a gift - don't tell Sonny, but I think he's got some serious competition. Have you tried it?"

When he nodded, she took another swill and moaned. Heaven on earth. Without coffee to start her day she'd be a living zombie.

"Where's Danny?"

"The sitter took him to school for you."

Surprised, she looked at the clock on the nightstand and was shocked to see the time.

"You let me sleep 'til almost ten - why?"

"Why not?"

She tried to sound annoyed with him as she started to remember the events of the previous evening. "I have a business to run, Jason. I can't afford to sleep until noon."

"First off - yes, you can. You have a settlement big enough you don't have to work another day in your life. Second - you had a very traumatic evening - you can afford to spend one morning sleeping off the effects of that blasted drug, and you weren't going anywhere, even if I had to tie you to this bed."

Shrugging off the soft throbbing that protested her slow movements, Sam reached for the robe at the edge of the bed, his innocent words conjuring a delightful memory of a time he'd done just that. Down girl!

"That money is for Danny. He'll be able to go to any school he chooses, or anything else he wants to do. I work for a living, and I like it that way."

"Danny owns stocks in ELQ that will pay for any education he seeks. He also has a tidy sum put away for his future…you work because you want to."

"Why are we talking about money?"

"Because I don't want to think about you and that man who wants to take my son. I've heard more than I want to about him already."

Bits of their conversation from the previous night came drifting back. "You don't hate him, you know? You have no reason to, and after your last go round over that fake bitch, you reached an understanding of sorts. Call Lucky. Hear directly from him what this is about, instead of getting worked up over the nurse's always stinted view of things. From my experience, that particular version is usually painted to make her glow in your eyes." She walked towards the open bathroom door, mumbling to herself, "Not that she's had to work hard to get that."

"So you don't think he's been talking to your mother?"

"If he has, he's got good reason. But you won't know if you don't leave me and go find out."

"I don't want to leave you alone."

"I happen to like the solitude."

He was in the same place she'd left him, on the edge of the bed, when she exited the bathroom a shower later.

"Why exactly are you in my bedroom?"

"Were you in love with him?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Did you love him…when you were…"

"I guess so. Look, I told you last night, Jason…Lucky and I were never the love of each other's lives. We had a unique friendship that grew out of the pain of getting your heart and soul stomped on and trampled by the _one_ person you would've _died_ for. He helped me through a really dark period, and he taught me that I wasn't damaged beyond repair. I needed that - back then. But it was a long time ago and we both got over whatever it was and went on with our lives. There's nothing there, not like that."

"But you like him?"

"Of course I like him - he's a likable guy! You like him too - that's what I'm trying to tell you!"

His head tilted in thought. "Some guy who picked up the pieces and held you together after I broke your heart? No, I doubt how much I like him."

"Don't be ridiculous - you're starting to sound as crazy as your harpie!"

" _Harpie_?"

"Oh, I'm sorry - would you prefer I call her your _fiancé?_ "

"Sam, stop!"

"Don't _Sam, stop_ me, Jason! She wears her ring as proudly as the first time she couldn't wait to show me, and I'm not giving her a label she doesn't still call herself."

"I haven't given her _any_ reason to still be wearing that, and you know I'm not her…whatever…stop changing the subject. Is Lucky, why you ran? Is he why you refuse to talk about what happened between us New Year's Eve? Why we can't try again?"

They'd made it to the first floor of the penthouse, where Sam plopped to the sofa, grunting as she threw her head back against a sofa cushion.

"When have we ever talked about _trying again?_ You have a helluva lot going on, don't you think? You think you have room for anything more right now?"

When he sat beside her, Jason wanted more than anything to hold her, but her body language alone kept him at bay, screaming she wasn't in the mood to play nice.

"I've been trying for two months now to get to more with you, but you hold me so far at arms length I may as well be in the next town. Why don't you want to even talk about us, Sam?"

"Why do you? You never used to like talking, you know that?"

"I still don't…but this is too important. Don't you feel the same?"

The timbre of his voice confused her…as if the answer would either break or make him, and Sam couldn't hide her own curiosity at what it was that she really wanted them to be.

"It doesn't really matter how I feel. We've tried to make this work - _it doesn't_. You have obligations elsewhere, and you have people depending on you that don't include Danny and me. We're okay - we're fine - you're free to do what you need to, Jason."

"What about what I _want_ to do…doesn't that count for anything?"

She studied him closely. "Tell the truth, that changes from day to day. It's okay - you're only human…and you're a decent one. You have another family - that's just how life worked out for us. I've learned to accept that and I don't fantasize about what we could be anymore - the reality isn't so bad."

He looked down at dainty fingers playing with the edge of her yoga pants, and without thought, he found his own interlocking, just to be touching her. When she didn't pull away, he raised nervous eyes to meet hers.

"I do."

"You do what?"

"Fantasize about you…daily."

"Oh, really? What do you think about?" The electricity from his blue gaze had her fixated when the next words left his lips.

"That remarkable night we spent together, for one…before you ran away from me…from us. I can't wait to do it again. Maybe the next time we spend the night together, you'll give me the chance to kiss you good morning."

The instant heat that burned her cheeks raced a trail through her and she couldn't look away. "Jason, you have other things you should be focusing on right now…what may, or may not be happening between you and me can wait, don't you think?"

"No. I think it's waited too long as it is, Sam - and that's my fault. I had my head stuck in the sand when I should have been finding out about my life and why I had you amazing people in it to begin with. I need you and my son to forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?" She couldn't think what he thought he needed forgiving.

"For leaving you that night. For being blind and stupid. For not listening to everything around me that was screaming you are my destiny. For hurting you…again!"

"We hurt each other."

"But this time it was me. I need you and Danny in my life, Sam. I want to put our family back together again…it should've never been broken in the first place - I know that now. Please tell me you want that too?"

The sound of the doorbell saved her from an awkward moment where she was hearing him say something she hadn't even realized she'd been waiting on, but unsure if she was ready to hear it. After breathing out his irritable frustration, Jason opened the door to Dante Falconeri, who stepped over the threshold and looked towards Sam on the couch.

"Morning! Sam, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Ready to give your statement?"

"About what?"

Dante stopped before Sam then looked at Jason, and back at her again. "Your version of last evening's events. You were kidnapped by Franco Baldwin?"

"Franco? Is that who did this to me? Why?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"I can't tell you what I can't remember, Dante. I recall going to the dock to meet a client, taking a seat on a bench, then the next thing I knew, it was the middle of the night and Jason was taking me to GH. It was Franco who did this?"

Dante couldn't keep his gaze from going between the two, who had made stalling the cops an art form over the years.

"What about you?" He asked the silent, stoic man who took up position behind the sofa Sam sat on, his body on guard in protection, his shrug nonchalant to Dante's address.

"You didn't board Franco's boat last night, rescued Sam from him, then blew him to Kingdom come?"

"Nnope!"

"So how did Sam get from the boat, where she was seen boarding with Franco, to the hospital with you not leaving her side?"

"I didn't see who drugged me - I was minding my own business when I felt a prick at my neck. Then I was in my car...if Jason hadn't found me...I could've tried to drive in that condition. He got me to the hospital."

"So somebody drugged you and just left you behind the wheel of your car?" The Detective made certain they knew how incredible they were sounding. "Before either of you dig this hole any deeper - we have a witness who says different…said you left the harbor alone, Morgan, but weren't, when you returned hours later."

"Your witness is mistaken. You should go ask Franco these questions and stop badgering Jason."

"I would, if he hadn't disappeared without a trace."

"D _isappeared?_ "

"Somebody blew him up with the boat he rented for the night - do you know anything about that part?"

"Did you find his body?"

"No. That's the darnest part of this whole thing…the Coast Guard were on the scene minutes after the explosion, they've been searching all morning and yet, not a sign of him."

"Then how do you know anything happened to him? How do you know Franco isn't playing one of his elaborate games and trying to frame Jason in the process? _Again_! Hasn't he made fools of all of you enough yet?"

"I have a job to do, Sam…and whether it's a law abiding citizen, or a criminal like Franco, I have to follow all leads in a criminal investigation."

"From what you've said, it sounds like Franco had me on some boat, doing God knows what to my drugged body, then he deposited me in my car, where he hoped I'd kill myself or someone else in a crash, before he disappeared again, to watch you all run around in brainless circles. Sounds like classic Franco to me."

That theory was a whitewash and the Detective knew it, but he could also tell that neither would share what it was that they knew. "What were you doing on the water, Morgan?"

Jason shrugged. "It was a nice night. Took the speedboat for a couple laps and came back."

"A couple? Witness placed you on the water for hours. Care to tell me what you were doing?"

"He needs permission from the police to stay on the water as long as he likes?"

Dante could feel them closing ranks even tighter around each other. Some things just never changed. "Look, Sam - I know you've had a rough night. Just come by the station when you're feeling better - we need to record your statement."

"Fine. Though, I don't know what more I'll be able to tell you, since I don't remember anything about the evening."

"You'd be surprised the things the brain captures when you don't know you're even paying attention. Just don't leave town, okay? Either of you!"

When the Detective had gone, Sam shook her head at Jason. "You're losing your touch Morgan. Being seen coming and going like that - what's happened to you?" The light touch of teasing peppered her voice, but soon caught in her throat at his simple, cracked answer.

"I wasn't thinking about _anything,_ but getting to you."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Alexis, thank you for doing this." Lucky Spencer took the chair in front of Alexis Davis' desk and spread his hands, "I know it's probably awkward, so I really appreciate it."

"Why would you say that?"

"Well, Jason is kind of your family, right? I kinda feel like I'm putting you in the middle."

Alexis removed the spectacles and smiled over at the young Spencer. "Honestly, I'm not really sure _what_ Jason is to my daughter these days…those two have a gift for leaving you guessing. But this is not about that…you're concerned about the welfare of your young sons…Sam will understand."

"Are you sure? I want the boys to come live with me at Windermere - that means I'll be enforcing my role as Jakes's father to make that happen. Jason and Sam could take that the wrong way."

"Do you really believe your children are being neglected?"

Lucky squirmed uncomfortably. " _Neglected_ is a strong word. They are cared well by Audrey - as well as can be expected for a person at her age to constantly watch three rambunctious boys…and their mother wouldn't knowingly hurt them. But I do believe they need the kind of attention and security they're not getting."

"So you believe they'll be better off with you, at a temporary home? You'll be uprooting them, taking them away from their mother - are you prepared for that fallout?"

"I'm prepared to do whatever my boys need."

"Okay, then. You should be aware that your absence from their lives will be called into question. Elizabeth can bring a very strong argument that you haven't been there and that your interest is fleeting and temporary. You will need to be prepared to show permanence and stability for them and for yourself. You need to show a means to support them, to provide for their daily care. Temporary habitation at your brother's won't cut it."

Lucky nodded at everything she said. "I know - I was anticipating all that. I have contractors fixing up my family's home, getting it ready for us, so we won't be at Windermere for long. The years away have been good to me - I can provide very well for my children."

"Okay, good. You will need to back all that up before the court will take your claim seriously. Now, as far as Jake Spencer goes, you have a legal right to him that Jason doesn't. You are listed as the father on his birth certificate, and you are the father who's claimed him since birth. Any contest to that will take time to prove, and although your absence does hurt your case, you have certain undeniable rights that will work in your favor. The fact that the boys are unhappy at home - the fact that they don't actually spend much time with their mother - you stand a very good chance of getting custody."

Lucky sighed at the words he'd been longing to hear. He knew he was in for a fight but as long as he knew he stood a real chance of giving this boys the home and stability they needed, he could face anything. He wasn't looking forward to the fight with Jason Morgan…he'd heard what a good father he'd been since his return…but he couldn't concern himself with that, over what was good for his family. What they needed full-time, mattered so much more.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam. It had been years since the last time he saw her and yet, she looked exactly the same...petite, gorgeously stacked, and full of life.

"Hey, beautiful!"

Sam smiled warmly at the familiar voice that she hadn't heard in a long, long time, not needing to turn around to know he was smiling warmly at her.

"Hello, Spencer!" His handsome face appeared when he moved in front of her and grabbed her hand off the table to pull her up and into a warm hug.

"How is it that you haven't aged a day from the day we met?"

Sam eased to arms length and squeezed the hand holding hers tightly. "You tell me - I could say the same about you. Foreign lands have been treating you well I see?"

They had drifted apart over the years, even before he'd left town. Though the breakup was amicable and they remained friendly, it was never the same after Sam realized the man would forever carry a torch for the woman he proclaimed to no longer love, who'd ripped his heart from the socket much like Jason had done to hers, but who seemed destined to forever be her slave, like Jason. They'd drifted even further when she'd gotten back with Jason and after Franco unleashed his special brand of craziness on their lives. There was that ugly period where Lucky had actually said, Jason should've gone after his sister instead of Sam when they'd both been kidnapped by the madman, and although she'd forgiven the angry outburst as adrenalin-driven fear for his sister, he'd repeated his hurtful words when he inferred she should also fall behind the nurse in line to be rescued. Lucky for Lucky, Sam Morgan wasn't one to carry a grudge against friends. He'd been good to her once, so she'd lain bygones aside a long time ago.

By the time Jason showed up for his meeting with Lucky, Sam was on a second round of vodka, sharing a few laughs about the years that had elapsed without their lives crossing. After an initially tense greeting that passed between the two men, Sam quickly left them to their discussion, knowing they stood a better chance of talking openly and resolving the custody issue, one on one. She'd also seen the iciness that entered the bar behind unsmiling blue eyes and she wanted to be out of range. Waving goodbye, she left them to it.

"He's my son."

"Biologically. In every other way that counts…he's _my_ son!"

Sam was wrong. Jason looked at the man who'd had papers served on Elizabeth the week before, suing for custody of all three of her children, and he wished she'd been right in this case. He knew meeting the man who he could barely remember, would serve no purpose, and when he showed up to find him cozily snugged up to Sam at the MetroCourt lounge, it only left him with an even lesser opinion of him. He'd been right about that - he obviously harbored feelings for her that he was hoping would lead somewhere. Jason hadn't felt like dealing with him at all after realizing that.

"You haven't been around. You haven't seen how things are different now. I'm in my son't life and it's going to stay that way."

Lucky took a sip of club soda and rested the glass on the bar, avoiding eye contact with the man who'd almost blown a gasket when he walked in on him having a drink with Sam earlier. He'd known Jason Morgan a long time and had never known him to be possessive or jealous, but those flares from his nostrils had been unmistakable. He was still flaring now.

"I'm not stopping you from seeing Jake, Jason. That would not benefit my son…but he's coming to live with me, where he belongs. I'm his father."

Jason spun the glass of scotch between his hands, his eyes following the single cube of ice as it swirled through the dark liquid.

"He doesn't need to be confused, when you're just going to pick up in a few weeks and take off again. Nobody is taking my son away from me."

"Is this even really about Jake…or are you just bent out of shape about what you saw earlier?"

This time Jason did spare the man a glare, his inference to the cozy scene from earlier, doing nothing to sway Jason's desire to punch him in the face.

"Leave Sam out of this."

"Can you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you hated that Sam and I were involved before and you hate that we're friends now."

"I don't tell Sam who to be friends with and she doesn't need my permission for anything she does. You will be wise to leave her out of this - I won't tell you again."

Lucky smiled behind the glass he raised to his lips. It was always so easy to get Jason Morgan riled up about the sassy PI. Some things just never changed. Just like it hadn't changed how good she looked, how funny she was, and how natural it was being with her.

"We always had a great time together and from what I understand, she's single again." He looked at the tightening of the man's jaw and couldn't help the little jab. "So am I."

Jason knew by the way his teeth were grinding together that he needed to leave. Right then. Last thing he needed was to go into a custody battle with charges garnered from killing his son's other dad. Standing up from the stool, he walked away without saying another word.


	31. Chapter 31

"I'm here about a job."

Alighting from her SUV, Sam smiled at the driver of the grey sedan parked in Spinelli's space, where he'd apparently waited for her to get to the office. Slamming her door shut, she smiled wider as she opened the back door to grab her laptop carrier, before she turned to face him, hoisting the strap to her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah? Got experience?"

Lucky returned the radiant smile as he handed her a cup of her favorite brew, then stuck a cold hand inside his coat pocket.

"A little…was a Detective, once upon a time. Heard the skillset is pretty similar."

Sam unlocked the door and led the way inside her office, where the motion sensors kicked in to flood the room with soft light.

"Hours are killer, though. Not exactly ideal for a family man with something to prove to the courts."

Lucky unzipped his coat and took a seat across from her desk, then took a sip of the coffee he held before responding, "You seem to make it work. Never seen you look happier, McCall."

"Morgan!" It came out as if on instinct, before Sam even realized she'd said it. When Lucky's brows raised, she felt compelled to explain. "Gotten kind of used to it, and since it's my son's name too, I don't think it'll be going anywhere."

Lucky stared at her keenly, seeing for the first time since he'd been back, that those feelings were as strong as ever, whether she knew it or not. Still, if she wasn't going to pay any attention to them, who was he to push her?

"Sorry - **_Morgan_** _!_ Gotta say though, still see a whole lot of McCall in front of me…fiery, determined, capable, hot as all hell! It's a good luck McCa… _Morgan_!"

Shaking her head, Sam fired up the laptop and threw him a look. "Okay, okay, you didn't come here this early to butter me up - what do you want, Spencer?"

"I'm serious about the job. Saw your ad looking for experienced PIs…need to secure gainful employment before the court date - so how about it?"

She paused to study him, realizing he was serious. "I wish I could, really I do…but I can't help you fight Jason."

There was a small sting of rejection that he calmly brushed aside. "I thought you two weren't…"

"We're not. But he's still my kid's father - I can't do anything to hurt him, and helping the man trying to take his son, would. We're friends, Lucky, but I can't help you hurt Jason."

"This case is about Jake, Sam - not Jason. Besides, he gave Jake up for a reason. He may not be living the life anymore but his enemies haven't forgotten…they can still come after him at anytime, and that could put Jake in very real danger if he's around him."

"You have a few enemies yourself! And wait a minute - I thought this was about Jake's living arrangements! Are you saying you're going to keep him away from Jason completely when you said you wouldn't?" When the truth shone through his eyes, Sam rose from the chair in surprise. "Lucky, Jason loves that little boy! You can't cut him out of Jake's life - not again! It wasn't fair of you and that bitch to do it the first time and you can't seriously be considering it now after they've bonded so closely!"

"Sam, Jason gave Jake up because he knew the danger. I also remember him cutting you completely out of that decision, so I'm a little surprised you're fighting for him like this. He didn't want you in his son's life either, remember?"

"Ancient history and a string of lies coerced by the love of **_your_** life. Jason has gotten to know his son - like he should've in the first place - and he adores that little boy! I would never keep him away from Danny, **_never_**! And if you see him with Jake, you'll realize that you're not doing your son any favors either, by doing that. Jake loves Jason, and he'll end up resenting you for it."

"Jake is a child - he doesn't know what's best for him - I do. I'm sorry, but Jason Morgan is, and will always be, a danger to anybody close to him. You might want to reconsider about Danny, and yourself too."

"Not in a million years would I ever keep Jason and Danny apart. They need each other and that bond is as real as it gets. Jason is a good man, and you know that. Nothing good is going to come from locking Jake away from him…and he's not going to just let you do that without a helluva fight either."

Lucky rose to his feet and placed the coffee cup on the desk, facing the fiery beauty who was facing him down. She was even hotter when she got all fired up like that.

"Look, we're drifting waay off topic…I didn't come here to talk about Jason…don't mind if we never talk about the man, ever! What I really want to know, is will you have dinner with me tonight?" He shrugged when she narrowed her eyes at his sudden change of topic. "I'd like a job, but since you've blatantly turned me down on that end, you _have_ to soothe my ego with a meal." She still looked at him confused, so he quickly added, "Say a proper hello to a friend…and you can even spend the evening trying to convince me why I should let Morgan stay in my son's life."

Sam shook her head at the man. "Stop it Spencer - you're far from charming." She eyed him thoughtfully, seeing a chance to help Jason where she'd tried to convince him before that he wouldn't need it. She'd sworn Lucky wasn't out to keep him away from Jake. "I'll have dinner with you, but only to catch you up on what you've missed around here, and make you see what a disservice you'd be doing to Jake by keeping him away from Jason." She pointed a finger at him, "Don't get any ideas."

Smiling at his good fortune, Lucky started to back towards the door before she could take it back. "It's a date! The MetroCourt restaurant, say around eight?" He had a hand on the handle, turning it quickly and stepping from the room. "Great - see you then!"

Sam watched the door close and stood still for another minute, in worried contemplation. Things were about to get pretty bad before they got any better…hopefully she'd be able to talk Lucky down before they found themselves embroiled in a full scale war. She wasn't the least bit blinded to his intentions either…question was, was she at all interested? Sitting down slowly, she thought about the status of her love life. Shambles, tatters, nonexistent, were a few words that popped into her mind, prompting her to remember that there was a time when Lucky Spencer hadn't been so bad to go home to. He was very kind on the eyes and surprisingly satisfying as a lover, knew how to show a girl a good time…but just like most of the men she'd known, he wasn't quite able to accept the fiercely independent streak imbedded in her. He was never able to accept her going into any situation where a case led, trusting her to handle herself around any and all elements.

Lucky Spencer was a protector - the old fashioned kind who liked his woman at home with the kids, while he sought adventure and put away danger. He could never accept her being as much of a danger junkie as he was, even more of one, actually, so there had been fights and arguments when she resented the overt overprotectiveness…when he resented her bold and brash hold on life. The mutual parting of ways had been without pain, as they'd both accepted the inevitability…that theirs was not a love story for the ages.

There had been only one man in her life, who'd been truly capable of accepting and wholly embracing every facet and fibre that made up Sam McCall Morgan. One man who'd respected and even admired her need to be her true self, had encouraged and supported the growth of that free, unstoppable spirit. Only one man knew her…truly, truly knew her.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Daddy!"

Turning to the sound he'd never be able to ever live without again, Jason opened his arms to welcome the running hug headed his way, when Danny broke away from the sitter at the first sight of him. Swooping and holding him tightly to his chest, Jason wondered for the millionth time how he'd ever managed a day without this little boy. The pure, unfiltered love he got from his son was the richest thing in his life and he'd never let it go.

"Hey Buddy!"

When Danny eased back to see his eyes, Jason had to hurriedly mask the emotions threatening to consume him.

"I didn't know you were coming, Daddy!"

"Did I get our schedules mixed up, Mr. Morgan? I thought I was picking Danny up today?"

"No, Trudy - you're fine. My afternoon freed up and I just needed to see little man." He smiled at his adorable little boy, who was always so excited to see him that it swelled his heart. "Want to grab some hot chocolate with your old man, kiddo?"

"Can we go to the park too?"

"It's a little too icy for that today…but we can figure out something else fun to do afterwards, deal?"

Smacking a tiny, mittened hi-five against the palm Jason held up, Danny nodded and grinned. "Deal!"

After hot chocolate, Danny reached inside his bookbag to show Jason the huge card he'd colored for his mom at preschool.

"Look, Daddy. I made this for Mommy - think she'll like it?"

"She'd gonna love it! It will go very nicely with that other gift we have for Mommy. Ready to go pick it up?"

"Mmhm."

"Finish your hot chocolate and we'll go."

An hour later, Danny was still excited as Jason unlocked the door to let him lead them into the penthouse.

"This is so cool - I can't wait for Mommy to see. Can we call her now, Daddy?"

"Sure, but it might be more of a surprise if we just hang out until she gets here. Let's make her dinner while we wait."

"Okay."

Cooking with his little boy was the highlight that capped their wonderful afternoon, and as Jason listened to Danny talk up a storm while they chopped and sautéed and pureed away, he felt a kind of peace and comfort that had been sorely missing for a really, really long time. Being there felt so much like home, the place where one's spirit was most at peace and one's heart and head was most at rest…natural, serene, light. Everything.

"What's all this?"

Two sets of seablue eyes turned to the door that had swung open to reveal Sam, standing with one hand on the knob and her keys in the other, looking questionably at them adding the finishing touches to the dining table set for three. Grabbing the card from where he'd lain it by her plate, Danny raced to the open door.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy!"

Hugging him to her, Sam pushed the door closed behind her and tossed the keys to the desk, bending over to squeeze her son tighter.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my baby! Oh, this is the best present ever!"

"There's more, there's more!" He wriggled from her grasp and handed her the card, grabbing hold of her free hand to pull her over to the dining room, where Jason patiently waited, looking the tiniest bit anxious.

"There is? I can't wait to see!"

Danny was pulling her chair out, his happy little face beaming with pride. "Daddy and I made you dinner, Mommy!"

Resting the card near her plate, Sam held her hands up. "Can I wash my hands first?" When he nodded, she grinned and turned towards the kitchen, only to freeze in her tracks when both Jason and Danny yelled, " **NO**!"

Startled, Sam looked at them both, catching the quick look they passed each other, before Jason explained, "It's a giant mess in there, pots and pans piled high in the sink - use the bathroom." Before she even moved an inch, he was at her side, guiding her towards the first floor guest bathroom. Eyeing him suspiciously, Sam allowed herself to be steered, keeping silent to give them their way. She'd play along with their little conspiracy, admitting to herself that even though she didn't quite know how to feel about the coziness of their little surprise, it felt good to see them conspiring to do something nice for her. She dutifully washed her hands and returned to the table, where her son held her chair out, his delight washing her completely. Finally reading the card he'd obviously poured lots of time and love into, Sam made certain he knew how much she loved it.

"Thank you, baby - it's the best card I've ever gotten - _ever_!" The pleased smile that transformed his handsome little face was all she'd ever need. After that, Sam was a bubbling gutful of happiness, savoring the delicious chicken stir-fry and frozen, ginger-infused mango ice dessert. She made a show of scooping the very last drop from the bottom of the bowl when Danny proudly told her how he'd added the ginger himself and poured the puree into the freezing molds, without Daddy's help.

"Mmmm! I've never had anything so good!" She smiled at her baby and winked, "That was delicious!"

He nodded as he mouthed another taste, then grinned at Jason. "Now, Daddy?"

"There's more?" Sam loved the mischievous look that passed between them that told of a shared secret known only to the two. They were so happy…a warm sight that filled her heart.

"Now." Jason winked at Danny and they headed towards the kitchen, leaving Sam to chuckle that she was right from earlier - they were hiding something in the kitchen!

A minute later, her face broke out in a huge smile of surprise that warmed her right through, as she rose to her feet, watching Danny lead the four legged, huge red bow her way. "You didn't!"

"Do you like it, Mommy?"

Kneeling to stroke the adorable black and brown specimen, Sam bubbled over with glee. "I love, love, love it! I've never had one before - thank you!" She grabbed her son and covered him with kisses, before they both went back to stroking the new arrival. She looked to Jason who hung by the table watching them, mouthing "Thank you!"

He shrugged, feeling his heart explode at the wattage of the smile he'd keep on her face if he could. "Danny chose him. He said this one would be perfect for you…he was right."

She turned back to the Doberman that Danny had in a hug, as it sniffed her hand that was stroking its coat. "He's perfect."

Sam's phone had been beeping in her back pocket for awhile, though she had barely noticed, only remembering that she'd made plans for the evening when it beeped again. Knowing that it was probably Lucky, she checked and saw that it was and that it was almost nine. She'd completely forgotten about him!

Noticing her changing expression, Jason, who'd started clearing the table, asked absently, "Something you need to do?"

Sam met eyes that seemed to know, without really knowing, and she'd almost forgotten what that was like with him.

"Just something I said I'd do that I forgot about. It can wait."

Jason piled the plates in one hand and reached for another. "Sure? I can watch Danny tonight, if you need to work."

"I'm sure." One look at her little boy, who'd obviously found a new best friend, and she knew there was no place else she wanted to be. "It can wait." She texted Lucky an apology and asked for a raincheck, then placed the phone on the table without reading the incoming response. She was definitively, in for the night.

Leaving Jason on cleanup duty, Sam gave Danny a bath, where she had the hardest time convincing him that dogs didn't like water very much, so their new friend, who was bigger than him too, wasn't interested in joining him in the tub. When he tried and tried, she finally told him, "Daniel Edward Morgan, no! You are not going to swap dirt with that dog."

"I think he would like the tub, Mommy. Pllllease?"

"No. He can have his own bath some other time." Sam shook her head and chuckled. "What's his name, anyway?"

"Captain!"

"Really? Why Captain?"

Danny splashed the bathwater with the battleships he crashed together and dipped. "He's your First Mate. Daddy says he'll look out for you when we're not there and when you need him to, he'll take charge."

"That's a good name - I like it!" She flicked his cute little nose with a forefinger, "He'll have to get in line though…I already have the _best_ First Mate in the business!"

When she'd finally gotten him settled in for the night, Sam left boy and dog together, one in bed, the other lain out on the floor next to it, and went back to the living room to find Jason stoking the fire, seemingly lost in thought.

"Thank you, Jason. This was a nice surprise."

He watched her get comfy on the couch before he moved over to hand her the cold beer waiting for her. Clinking his bottle to hers, Jason didn't know when he'd spent a better evening. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sam."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jason." She took a sip and savored the brew, allowing it to help relax the nerves that were starting to build.

"Danny asleep?"

"Just about…if he doesn't decide to spend the entire night awake with, Captain." She looked at the man who still knew her pretty well. "I hear I have a new _guard_."

"A very well-trained one."

"Oh?"

Smiling, Jason sat next to her and toyed with the label on the cold bottle. "Just don't say the words, ' _Captain kill_ ,' unless you mean it."

Sam didn't know whether or not to believe him at first, but when he turned serious blue eyes her way, she realized he really meant it. Poking him with her big toe, she was shocked beyond belief.

"I left him with our baby! Jason, you did **_not_** get me an attack dog!"

"You bet I did. He won't hurt Danny - he won't hurt either of you." She was still gaping at him in disbelief so he added, "You don't want me to do it, so you need someone beside you when you're at the office. No more surprises."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't tell me you were attacked in your office, Sam, and I'm assuming it's because you know I'd have been your shadow ever since. Those two idiots could've killed you!"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that you **_have_** been my shadow since?" When the silence got strained and he only took a long swig of beer, she prodded in annoyance, " _Jaason_ …have you been following me?"

"Okay, before you make it sound like stalking, I was a little…concerned! I know you can handle anything…you definitely handled that situation…but a little insurance never hurt."

"Who told you what happened?"

"Does it matter? Why didn't you?"

"Didn't think I needed to…who told you?"

"Someone who knew I should know that the mother of my son was almost taken away from us. She didn't do it to snitch but she thought I'd want to know - and she was right."

" _She?_ "

"Just take Captain with you where you go. He's trained to keep up…and before you protest, Sam - even cops have backup when they're out saving the world. I want you to, too."

"Will you quit shadowing me if I do?"

Jason held one hand up in surrender. "Swear."

She'd thought she was crazy one night the week before when she could've sworn she'd sensed him on a stakeout near the east side of town, where she'd followed a cheating spouse to his mistress' condo. She'd been in the middle of getting the moneyshot from the side of the house across the street, when something told her she was not alone…but she'd shrugged it off as her heart and mind playing silly tricks, conjuring him where he wasn't. But she wasn't wrong!

"Of course, you could always just hire me to do it. You're still looking for people, right?"

"What? I can't hire you to work for me!"

"Because?"

"Because…it would be weird!" He was looking at her to explain, so she continued, "You're not going to take orders from me - that would just be weird!"

"We've worked together hundreds of times and it's never been a problem before."

"I wasn't your boss before. And we were…"

"Pretty damn good!"

"Not what I was about to say."

"Fine - how about this - how about you let me buy in, and that way, we'll be equal partners. Will that work better for you?"

She looked at him seriously for the first time since the conversation started - he wasn't joking!

"You're serious about this?"

"Dead serious. You need help and I need a purpose, Sam. I haven't been doing much of anything except drive myself crazy trying to get my memories back. It's time I figured out what I'm doing with myself. I know what I want on the personal side, and I won't stop until I get it again…but professionally…honestly, I'm starting to feel kind of lost all over again."

Sam's heart thumped with hurt for him. Jason Morgan was the most self assured, structured, disciplined man she'd ever known. She honestly hadn't given much thought to him floundering like this, but why hadn't she? In all the time that she'd known him, he'd always been, Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos' Enforcer and savior of the day…but he wasn't that anymore, was he?

"I'm sorry, Jason - I guess I just never thought about it that way. You're financially set for life - you don't ever have to work again…but that's not you, is it? You're just like me in that way…you _need_ to work."

"We're alike in a lot more ways than just that, Sam."

Her cheeks burned instantly at his statement - she knew he was right again. She'd so often thought they were two sides of the same coin, sharing the same views, opinions, traits, skills, ambitions…but that was when they'd also shared a life. Business was booming and she definitely needed help, and nobody was more qualified than the man sitting next to her. Personal issues aside, she couldn't think why she hadn't thought of him before.

"Okay…I'll talk it over with Spinelli, although we both know what his answer is going to be." Holding a hand out, she smiled, "Welcome aboard…partner!"

The electricity that shot through her at his touch, zipped all the way to her pinky toes, and Sam knew it had a helluva lot to do with the wonderful evening he'd put together for her. As Valentine's Days went, this one ranked right up there with the time he'd had her sisters decorate his penthouse with pink and red balloon hearts and flowers, just for her. Looking at him sitting across from her, calmly sipping the last of his beer, Sam remembered a time when this ended a typical evening for them…relaxing on the couch after a long day, unwinding with the only person either wanted to end it with. They'd fit so easily and so naturally together, so in love and in like with each other, so similar in thought and deed…so right together. It was times such as this that she missed her husband the most. She realized with a start that he was staring at her, and Sam would swear he was thinking the same thing she was. Clearing her throat, she stood from the couch.

"It's late, I'm going to head to bed." She cringed, suddenly realizing what she said probably sounded like an invitation.

Jason smirked wickedly and stood up, resting the bottle on the coffee table as he did. "Sounds like a good idea." He wasn't disappointed when she bristled and blushed at the same time, eliciting a soft chuckle that warmed his heart. She was adorable. Stepping close, close, he took her hand softly, then leaned in torturously slow to plant a soft kiss on the side of her lips, lingering enticingly, allowing only the tiniest flick of the tip of his tongue to brush the corner of her mouth, then moved his face to brush her cheek and whisper, "Goodnight, beautiful." Reluctantly letting go, he grabbed his jacket and walked through the door, closing it softly behind him, thinking, that was the very best evening he'd had in forever.


	32. Chapter 32

By the next morning, Sam realized that she was falling fast in love. As she walked the quiet, cold streets of early morning Port Charles, a steaming cup of java in one black-gloved hand and the leash of that new love in the other, she realized that Jason was onto something. She was already in. He fit her…and as they strutted the street quietly together, she could see this quickly becoming the norm. Woman and her dog against the world…or at least, Port Charles. The thought made her smile, then the thought of the giver, made that smile wider. She could see her Jason Morgan peeking through again, and she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her happy. He was trying, and she couldn't ask for more than that.

"So, is this who you stood me up for?"

Lucky Spencer had rounded the corner and was headed towards them, pointing at her new companion. Sam smiled in greeting.

"Isn't he worth it though?"

"I don't know - we haven't officially met yet. Your Valentine then, I presume?"

The lightbulb that went off left her feeling silly that she hadn't seen it before. "You realized it was Valentine's Day when you asked me out?"

His smile was unapologetic. "And I knew you didn't, when you accepted. You messed up a wonderful evening, by the way. When do I get a makeup?"

"Lucky…"

"Don't you dare say no. I just got back - you're not allowed to break my heart before a few official, earth shattering dates that leave you pining for me."

She laughed at his light banter, remembering how he could always put her at ease. "Whatever, Spencer!" Pulling softly on Captain's leash, she went to move around the man. "You're gonna have to practice your newfound charm on some other unsuspecting flower. But you and I still need to talk." When he opened his mouth to flirt with her again, she threw behind her, "About Jason and Jake!"

He watched her sultry back as she left, the full body black-clad physique enticing in her leggings and leather, her signature six inch heeled, calf-high boots clicking her away from him, and he wanted her as much as he ever did. She bent her head towards her companion as if to say something, causing the early morning sun to glint off her bouncing, raven tresses, completing the picture of how gorgeous she was, how she'd gotten even hotter in his absence, and he'd be damned if he was about to give up trying to get that again. Jason Morgan was around her all this time and still left her single and unattached? Damn fool must have really banged his head hard this time.

"Jesus, not you too?" Elizabeth stopped next to Lucky and looked from him to the woman disappearing round the bend, and back again. "What is it with you men - Sam Morgan is no catch - what the hell do you all see in her?"

Lucky's smile faded when he sensed the argument brewing. "Good morning to you too."

"Whatever! Seeing Sam Morgan first thing in the morning is never good for anybody - and seeing you fawn over her makes it even worse!"

"Elizabeth, don't you get _exhausted_ lugging around all that hate and envy? Don't you want to be _happy_ again?"

"That's exactly what I want…so if you want to help me, Lucky, drop this custody suit, go back to wherever you were and leave Jake and I to put our family back together. That will make me very happy."

He shook his head, seeing clearly that she wasn't even aware of how far she'd sunk. "Do you hear what you just said?" Her look remained blank. " _Jake and you_ …not Cam, Aiden, Jake and you…just Jake and you. With Jason, I presume is what you meant?"

She fidgeted with the purse strap at her shoulder. "Don't twist my words - of course I meant all three of my boys."

" ** _Our_** , boys! They're _our_ boys…and you said precisely what you meant. That's why the suit isn't going away. Somebody has to think about them - **_all_** of them, and it becomes more and more clear, that somebody is me."

"Jason will never allow you to take our son, Lucky. We belong together, you need to see that."

He turned away from the blinding delusion to stop it from marring his day. "See you in court, Elizabeth."

Jason placed the headphones back on and fell back into a light jog. What had started as a run around the cabin had ended up the six miles to town, down by the pier. Nervous, misplaced energy had swamped him all night, rendering him sleepless and agitated, the fitful couple hours of sleep that he'd gotten, filled with desire for a certain raven-haired beauty, that had no place to be released.

He'd spotted her and started to move in her direction, but stopped when she was joined by the flirtatious man who repeatedly made no secret of his intentions. Knowing that if he interrupted them it was going to be with his fist to the smiling mouth of the leer, Jason held back, watching the interaction with a growing irritation that threatened explosion if the man stayed hungrily watching her leave. Note to self - train Captain to bite a certain scent.

The six mile jog back to the cabin took half the time it had taken him to get to town, and it was only after a long, cool shower that he was able to calm the pounding through his chest long enough to think clearly. The fuckup that his life had become was his own doing. **_He_** was the one who opted to live a life where he hadn't chosen his wife and son over some misguided responsibilities, earning him a bullet in the back and separation from the two people he loved so much. It had been **_his_** choice to back away from everything he'd heard he was, to remain in a safe hideaway with the safe choice, ignoring his wife's pain and his son's needs. It had been **_his_** choice to leave all the stones unturned in fear of what they held beneath, even when everyone and every sense in him had tried to convince him otherwise. Losing her all over again, was the penalty he deserved to pay for being royally and repeatedly stupid! But he couldn't…he just couldn't lose her again.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam hung up the phone and closed the file on the four-year child abduction case, the fulfillment of finding the missing little girl and getting her location in the hands of the police and her birth parents, making her day. Adjusting their invoice to bill only for her expenses, she took great pleasure in marking that one solved.

"You look happy!"

She looked over to the door to find Jason watching her keenly, the look on his face not much different from the angry one he'd worn at the MetroCourt when he showed up to his meeting with Lucky. She didn't need to ask him what was wrong - she knew he was struggling with the suit filed for Jake. Keeping her answer short would curb rubbing salt in an open wound.

"It's a good day."

"I can see that. What did you miss last night - a private welcome home party?"

"Excuse me?"

He was agitated, moving into the room but not being still enough to take a seat. "No games, Sam. We've never played them and we shouldn't start."

Sam leaned back in her chair, finally noticing something else was on his mind. He was angry.

"I couldn't agree more. So what exactly are you accusing me of?"

"Not accusing - asking. If you're about to start something with Spencer, tell me now so I know where I stand."

"Where you stand is the same place you've been all along. Why are you asking about Lucky? Is this because I had a drink with him?"

"It looked a lot cozier than just a drink, and from how he tells it, you're about to pick up right where you left off…both of you being _single_ and all."

Sam reached forward and snapped the laptop closed. "I don't believe Lucky would say anything so crude, and if he did, he was just pulling your leg. Don't start acting like a caveman."

She sounded like she was getting angry, but then her teasing brown eyes…she was mocking him!

Jason wiggled the fingers thrusted inside his jeans pockets as he continued to glare at her from his stance near the file cabinet. She thought this was funny. He'd come this close to stomping her boytoy into the floor, and she thought it was a joke. He still might find him and actually do it!

"Do you want him?"

Sam felt the amusement cease. "You really _are_ jealous!"

With a sigh, Jason turned his back to her scrutiny, taking a deep breath that heaved his chest and closed his eyes. He was losing her before she'd even come back - how was that possible? The feel of her tiny hand against his back surprised him, as she came to join him near the window, stepping to his side with her arm loosely circling his waist.

"What's going on with you?"

He hung his head, then brought it back up to look out the window.

"He's interested in you." Silence followed the soft words.

Sam was still thinking about what he'd said about playing games, coming to the slow realization that was what she'd been unwittingly doing. In her earnest efforts to dodge him and safeguard her heart from further pain, she'd been hiding from what was inevitably happening between them, and in that quest to keep from getting crushed by him once again, she'd missed that she was playing hard to get, when the very heart she was protecting was screaming at her to get got…to take it home! The very heart that was now racing from her chest with a stark realization.

"Then I guess it's too bad I'm interested in someone else."

Hope. For the first time in months, he got more than just a little, and when the sound of her soft words injected his heart with sharp hope, Jason held his breath and prayed.

"You are?"

That pull that lived between them sent Sam to rest her head against a strong, muscled arm and join him staring out at the day. He'd always been the toughest man she knew, but with the most tender soul.

"Yeah. There's this lug that captured my heart awhile back, and hard as I've tried, I haven't been able to wrestle it back."

A tiny smirk began at the corner of his lips and light stoked his heart, as his eyes drooped again.

"Are you sure? It looked like something was brewing there."

She let his words sink in, already knowing the unblemished truth in her heart. "All you saw were two old friends saying hello. I told you before - there's nothing there anymore."

He wanted to stop while he was ahead, but she was too important to risk. "He was there for you…he knows things about you, things he had the good sense to appreciate, when I took them for granted. I can't blame you for being drawn to that."

Moving so she was standing before him and could look directly into his eyes, Sam gripped him by the arms so he'd look at her - needing him to really look at her.

"Nothing I've ever felt, has been as significant as the pull I feel to you! I don't want Lucky, I don't want Patrick, or any other man…I don't want anybody…but you."

Jason's breath caught and he yearned the whispered end of that sentence repeated. "Say that again."

When she reached a hand behind his neck to pull him to her instead, he met her lips softly, wrapping her in his arms to pull her close, still surprised by the deed…it had been ages since she'd initiated any closeness between them. His mind was fogging, racing against the heart wildly thumping his chest, warning, don't fuck this up, _do not fuck this up!_

But he would. He couldn't help it…her lips upon his were like heady wine…he had to keep drinking! Sliding a hand down to her firm rump, he palmed her hard and crushed her to his groin, pressing it to her, unable to stop the pulsing that was screaming out for her. When she moaned and melted into him, it was all the answer he needed. Lifting her off the ground, Jason spun her to the wall at his back, pushing hers against it as her toned legs wrapped his waist tight and his tongue plundered her mouth hungrily. He was starving!

Sam was giddy, she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen to her brain but the loss of the feel of his tongue at the back of her throat was not an option. Just as she would lose consciousness, he released her lips to attack her chin, her neck, working a hot, torrid trail down the neck of her shirt.

"I have too many clothes on." Her words were panted and wanton, and she needed him to take action.

Music to his ears. Bracing her against the wall, Jason placed a hand on either side of the shirt she wore and in an instant, fibers became shreds, ripped away from the fiery red bra that was next to follow, breaking apart so his eyes could feast on beautiful, full, inviting, voluptuous breasts. The groan that erupted from the instant dipping of his head that locked his lips onto a teasing nipple was that of an hungry, dangerous animal. The taste, everything he remembered, driving him as wild as he always was for her.

Sam was delirious. His hot tongue against her flesh was fuel on fire, sucking and plopping, working her nipple as he lifted one breast to release and let it pop heavily back to her chest, only to repeat and repeat, hungrily moving from one to the other. Burning heat set her hips to writhe wantonly against him, a message that they both still had way too many clothes on, a message he received clearly when eager hands tore at the zipper of her jeans to rip down and release her from their restraints, her hands simultaneously doing the same to his belt and zipper, pushing urgently at the jeans that tried to hold him from her.

"Put it in, Jason! Please, I need to feel you…ple…aaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

He entered her in one stroke, grunting and groaning at the tightness that instantly gripped him to her, the urgency for her long ago surpassing anything she could express for him.

" _Jesus…"_ The growl from his throat pushed the sound of her name through gritted teeth at her earlobe, _"…Sam!_ " When she moaned, he grunted in succession. He had to take a second. She was so tight, so wet, felt so good…he had to take a fucking second or burst wide open the very next.

"Fuck me, Jason. Fuck me…"

Writhing hips rose and fell against him in urgent need, driving her lips in search of his ear, his jaw, the strong, eager taste when they greeted her hungrily, his tongue driving, welcomingly met with her own. Gripping his shoulders tight, tighter, Sam moved against each fevered, blissful thrust with a desperate one of her own.

" _Sam!_ "

Her name escaped his throat and echoed against her, where he locked with the heat tearing through his gut, branding her the way she'd branded herself upon his soul forevermore. He couldn't get enough of her, each glorious thrust deep inside her more elating than the last, fanning the inferno she unleashed, the unquenchable thirst driving him mad with need for her.

" _Oh gawd…Jason…oh gawd, oh gawd…ohhhhhhhhh gawwwwwwwddddd!_ " Exploding bombs blew her mind when the orgasm spasmed through, leaving her clinging desperately to him, before every limb was rendered limp.

Warm juices bursting against his solid shaft sent Jason pounding harder into her, his lips seeking and finding hers urgently, his hands groping from thighs that hugged him like a blanket to the ass that enticed him like a magnet, finding that hidden spot deep within her, the pounding of the soft tip of him wrenching from her once again, _pure ecstasy_ that sent her clasping and grinding as she reared herself in his arms and kissed him back soundly, whimpering his name against the blazing bolts.

" _Jasonn!_ "

"Yes, baby, tell me! Tell me you're mine!"

"I'm yours - oh, gaa **awwd** \- **_I'M ALL YOUUURRS!_** "

"And I'm yours, Sam…nobody but yours!"

Her words, her writhes, her body, her touch…they set the orgasm blasting through him to ram her hard, harder, deep, deeper, tearing another from inside her when she spasmed once more, before crashing down with him on a glorious, filling, blissful, simultaneous wave of pleasure that glued them to each other, arms gripped tightly, securely, lovingly together…the way they belonged forever.

Elizabeth was glued to the spot in horror and amazement, her hand stuck on the knob as she stood with her mouth fallen open, her eyes bulging from her head in horror, her ears burning from the words she'd never, ever heard him say before. The sight before her was appalling and riveting, disgusting and compelling, heartbreaking and gripping…all at the same time. They were like two caged animals who'd been freed after years of captivity - trying desperately to melt into each other. She wanted to gorge her eyes from the sockets, even as she couldn't look away. He was the love of her life…wasn't he?

"J-Jason?"

But the anguished, pained, tortured name that tore from her lips went unheard…they were totally lost in each other and oblivious to her horrifying death. Finally able to rip her eyes from the blistering sight that would give her nightmares the rest of her life, she backed away from the slowly approaching Doberman with the snarling teeth and glowing eyes, emerging from the bathroom, running from the open door to collapse against the wall when her legs failed and her breathing stopped. He had never, in all the years they'd been together, all the times they'd made love, ever been like that with her. She had never before seen that intensity with him…except for that sole, surprising night when he'd returned without the champagne and she'd known he'd been with her. This confirmed all suspicions…it hadn't been her he made love to that night at all. Not like that. Not like this. He was never like this.

When her legs completely gave way and dropped her body to the floor, she heaved the dry pain that broke her heart into a million tiny shreds. Her eyes fell upon the glint of shiny stone she still wore with the hope of his return to their home, to their life, to their bed…and she knew the truth now. He truly was never hers. The man in that room belonged to that woman, heart, mind, gorgeous body and beautiful soul. She never stood a hooker's chance in hell of ever touching what she'd just seen and heard.

Ripping the stone from her finger, she tossed its burning band hard against the opposing wall, hearing it clink and clatter to a stop somewhere, feeling as lost and alone as she'd ever felt her entire life. He was not hers. Why did life continue to be so cruel, so cold, so unforgiving? Why couldn't he had loved her like that?

But she knew why. There's everything, there's nothing, and there's what's in between…but when your heart completely, unequivocally, inevitably belongs to another - to have and to hold, to own or to crush, to swoon or to smash, there's only ever, _everything and nothing_. Sam Morgan had everything. She, had nothing.


	33. Chapter 33

Sam wasn't sure what to do. This is what she'd been fighting for so long - this immensity, this connection, this inevitability that had the power to rip her wide open. She'd just succumbed to that primal thing that's always lived between them, the animalistic need for each other that fed and strengthened them both for so long. She'd lived for it once upon a time. But it had burned her like nothing ever had too, so was she crazy to want to trust it again?

His arms tightened, as though sensing the trepidation that awakened in her, and when he eased her legs down to solid ground once more, he held her still, refusing to let go. Boring through to her soul was what kept him alive, and he needed her to know.

"I can feel you pulling away." Resting his forehead to hers in quiet desperation, he pleaded, "Please don't run from us again, Sam." There was no answer…but she was still in his arms. "Please don't leave."

She didn't want to. She felt a need to, but lord, it wasn't what she _wanted_ to do. Closing her eyes against the silky touch of his forehead to hers, Sam lifted her face to him, seeking and finding his lips in reassurance, softly planting against them, trembling when they echoed the feathery touch of her own.

"I'm not going anywhere." She opened her eyes to meet the soft warming in his, the answer she sought, gaining light. "Not this time."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jason brushed her cheek softly, then sought her lips again, the need to taste her always vivid and acute.

When she could tear away from his dizzying kiss to surface for air, Sam looked towards a growling Captain near the door. "What's wrong boy?"

Fastening his jeans and buckling his belt, Jason approached the Doberman, snarlingly intent on something in the hall. After checking around outside, he returned a few minutes later to find Sam stroking the dog that was now completely at ease at her petting.

"I know how he feels." When she looked at him he nodded towards Captain, "You have that same calming effect on me too."

"Did you see anything?"

"No. Whatever it was is gone now."

A sudden thought reddened her cheek and neck. "What if it was a client? Jesus, Jason - they might've seen…" The smirk that turned his lips made her redder. "Stop it, it's not funny. Why didn't you lock the door?"

"What just happened was as beautiful a surprise to me as it was to you. Besides, there's something to be said if Captain didn't like whoever it was. Dogs have a sense for that kinda thing…they tend to smell out the people you can't trust."

Shaking her head at him, she looked back to her new pal. "I have to say, you chose very, very well. He feels like an old friend, like he knows me somehow. You saw him with Danny last night - he loves him already."

"It wasn't hard…I knew he had to be one that would take care of the people I love the most, especially when I'm not there to do it." He moved closer to her, but gave her room. "And I want to be there, Sam - more than anything, I want to be right where you and Danny have only to reach out and you can touch me. But I know it won't happen overnight."

"You're right. You and I never could keep our hands off each other, but that's really nothing new. It's the hard stuff that we've had so much trouble with. The staying, through everything…no matter how much it hurts. We've loved each other through it all…but we always seem to give up on us when things get really rocky. That's not something that's gonna be easy to trust, Jason."

"I know that…and I honestly don't know how you did it for so long." He felt the sting to his eyes when he remembered the one thing he'd always, always wish he could take back. "I threatened to hurt you, Sam. The words actually formed in my head and I let them pass my lips…I'll never understand how I could've done that. When I remember bits of our life…all the times you stood right by me, loving me, supporting me, encouraging me…even when I didn't make it easy. I don't get it - I just don't get it."

"I'm trying to remind myself that you're going to be reliving these memories like it's the first time, so whenever you dredge up ancient history, I have to remember to talk you through it. But this one we already covered…can we please just leave it where we already put it to bed? You were protecting your kid, I was out of control and getting dangerous to everybody around me…you did what you thought would get through to me. Leave it in the past, Jason."

"I don't know if I can."

" ** _Try!_** "

"I don't blame you for getting angry."

"I'm not angry - you're angry."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not angry. But you have every reason to be…"

"Will you stop that? Cut out the self-pitying, self-deprecating wallowing. We were both there, and we both moved past it. I'm not looking for an apology, I'm not looking for a replay…just let it die, Jason. It all played a part in making us who we are now, and who we are now are two people who love and respect each other. We're Danny's parents and damn proud of it, and we've been each other's backbone for a helluva lot longer, and through a helluva lot more than one silly death threat that I took about as serious as a clowncar!" Her eyes went big in earnest, "Do you remember me cowering in a corner of my apartment that day, or shaking in my boots in fear of you? Because what I remember, is wondering why the hell you were shattering my perfectly good glassware! I was about to hand you a broom but you left before I could remember where I kept it."

"Sam, it's not a joke."

"I wasn't scared of you, Jason. I didn't believe for one second that you could really hurt me. Even after you lied to me and tore my heart out in the worst way, I still knew you. I knew you then, just like I know you now. You could never hurt me…not physically."

"But emotionally?"

"Yes. Emotionally, you've cut me deeper than anyone ever has…we've hurt each other. That's not who we are anymore."

"How can you say that? I just got through hurting you, _again!_ "

"Not consciously, though. You lost your memory, and life played a cruel joke on us by taking you in a direction away from me…it's had a habit of doing that at times. I think it's constantly trying to test us, but you know what, Jason…we tend to kick the shit out of life's little tests, so I'm not all that worried."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, we do. You name the disaster, we've beaten it…tragic loss, brain tumors, seizures, bullet wounds, train wrecks, kidnappings, bombs, hostage crisis, virus, sleazy Webber…I mean, we've faced it all and do you know what the one constant has been each and every time?"

"After all that? I can't wait to hear…what?"

"You and me - still standing! You and me, stronger…after each and every obstacle, every disappointment, every typhoon…you and me, emerging unbroken and more determined than ever."

She was so amazing! Like his own personal wonder woman wrapped up in the most beautiful, unmatched package. He found himself staring at her in complete awe. "Why, Sam? Why have you stayed?"

Finding she didn't need to even think about the answer, she gave him the only one that came. "Because nothing in my life was ever as important as loving you…and then you gave me the one thing to surpass that…Danny…and we've have never had to wonder if you love us, Jason! From the moment you found out my son was alive, _nothing_ could stop you from bringing him home to me, and nothing did. From the second that you laid my baby in my arms, you became my hero again, and you haven't stopped since."

His head was shaking in utter disbelief. She couldn't really be real - could she? "How do you exist? I feel like God must've molded you just for me, and he couldn't have gotten you any more perfect if I'd drawn him a blueprint. Sam, my brain won't let me remember exactly how much I loved you, but if it's anything close to what I feel right now, right this minute…I don't understand how I could have ever forgotten you. I just don't get it."

"It's actually not a bad thing that life separated us for a time. Sometimes people need that - in order to better appreciate coming together again. Besides…," she smiled mischievously, "How else was Lizzy going to get _her time?_ I think the universe realized that bitch would die if she didn't get a chance to experience having you all to herself, if even for a little while."

"I can't believe you're joking right now."

"Of course I can joke about her - that chick is the biggest joke I've ever seen and you and all the men who worship her like she can do no wrong, are in for a really rude awakening, the day she shows you the real color of her heart."

"I don't want to talk about her."

"I know - you never want to talk about precious, weak-minded Elizabeth."

"I don't want to talk about her…because all I want to think about is you." He sank to the surface of her desk, where he sat and watched her keenly. "What happens now - where do we go from here?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going home." She started to pack her case, then smiled over at him coyly. "Actually, yeah, I do know… _I'm_ going home…you, _Rookie_ , get to hold down the fort."

"Rookie? Really?"

"Damn right…those A Team skills of yours are still locked in your memory banks, so they are of no use to me at the moment. You might as well just be leaving the academy, you're so fresh. I'm not even so sure I should leave you tending my baby here…" She petted Captain, who'd sidled over to her legs to peer up at them teasing each other.

"That reminds me…" Reaching for the jacket that had been discarded on her desk earlier, he searched inside the pocket.

"My favorite scarf!" Snatching the length of cotton from his hands, Sam met teasing eyes that watched her. "I thought I'd lost this - where did you find it?"

" _Ahem_ …the trainer may have needed something personal to familiarize Captain with your scent. Danny might be missing a t-shirt or two, also."

"Sneak!" She threw the scarf at him playfully. "You'd been planning this for awhile!"

"Man, you are _not_ easy to surprise!"

"Oh, I don't know…you've managed to pull it off once or twice before. Think you used to be better at it?"

She was so beautiful to him, emitting that glow from what had just happened between them, a glow reflective of the way he was feeling inside. "I used to be better at loving you." When he'd caught her attention, Jason went in. "I want you, Sam. I want that life we planned…with Danny. I love you…and I want forever with you." He could see she was hesitant…wary…but intrigued. "But I won't rush you. It's my own stupid fault that you don't trust this, and I deserve the distance you've been keeping between us…just please - give me one last chance to do better." He tucked a stray strand behind and ear, "I _need_ to be better…" and slowly trailed the back of his hand along her soft cheek "…for you."

She was starting to swoon again. One more second and she'd be back in that saddle, riding that cowboy all day. Shaking her head to free it of that beautiful image, Sam pressed against his hard chest, backing away from the enticing burn that beckoned loudly.

"Enough talk, Morgan! You can't be slacking off the first day on the job - and cozying up to the boss won't win you any favors. Get to work!"

"Boss? I thought we were partners? So much for not giving me orders!"

"Hey, first things first! She slapped his chest repeatedly before walking past him, "Gotta crawl before you go climbing fire escapes… _Rookie, remember?"_ Of course she was teasing him. Jason Morgan, a rookie? Not bloody likely. Those instincts were so keen, so deadly they'd bore through any memory loss or blockage or barricade without him having even to try.

Before she hit the door, he called her name softly, "Sam…" When she turned to face him, blue eyes met brown and he told her in that same seductive tone, "Some things you don't need to remember, to never forget," and he knew when her cheeks turned crimson at his eyes that slowly traveled them to linger on her lips, that she understood exactly what he meant, "Or do just right."

Smiling as jellied legs took her to the parking lot, Sam was surprised to find Maxie parked next her, still inside the car talking on her phone. After depositing Captain and the laptop inside her SUV and turning it on to get the heater going, she cracked the window, then closed the passenger door and got inside Maxie's front seat, where she waited a couple minutes for her to finish.

"Stupid Designer - called _just_ as I pulled up to see what I saw!"

Flashing back to Captain's growling from earlier, Sam's cheeks got slightly red. "What did you see?" Had that been Maxie?

"That crazy ass nurse stalking you again! She blazed to her car in tears and I thought she was going to swipe me when she tore out of here, swerving like a crazy person into traffic - what the hell happened? Tell me you let her have it?"

"Who are you talking about? Elizabeth? Elizabeth Webber was here?"

"You didn't see her?" When Sam looked confused, Maxie explained, "Well, she saw _something_ because she was white as a sheet and couldn't tear outta here fast enough."

"Oh, my God!"

"What? What, _OhMyGod_ \- what did she see?" Maxie grabbed her friend's hand then pointed at her shocked face, "You're biting your lip! When you do that it's something really good - what? What did she see…tell me it was something to make her blind!" Her eyes tore to the other vehicle in the lot that didn't belong to either of them. "Is that…" She looked back at Sam and it was her turn to bulge eyes, her mouth also falling open in surprise. "Oh, my God! Spill this second! What did that heifer see you and Jason doing, Sam?"

When Sam only bit her bottom lip some more and looked sheepishly from Maxie to the window, Maxie let out a squeal, then bounced like a schoolgirl and grabbed Sam's hand. "You beautiful little slut! You and Jason were doing the nasty in your office? And the town mattress saw you? Holy shit, this is better than vintage Oprah!"

"Maxie, stop - I didn't need anyone to see that."

"It's what she gets - always lurking and stalking - maybe now she gets it! Maybe now she'll leave you alone and find her own damn man!"

"That's a little harsh…it must've really hurt her - **_Ouch!_** What did you do that for?" Gingerly, Sam rubbed her arm where she'd just been pinched.

"To snap you out of it! Are you really sitting here feeling sorry for the woman who would drive you out of town if she could, to get her hands on your husband? The same desperate tramp who's been going after Jason for **_years_** \- even when you were still **_married_** to him, who tried to keep you from knowing Danny was **_alive_** , because she wanted Jason to herself? The bitch who's trying **_right now_** to get him back in her bed, and who was only here because she either tracked Jason or was coming here to give you a hard time, always blaming you for her miserable excuse for a wreck of a life? Why in hell wound you feel sorry for her?"

"I don't know…you just shouldn't kick a dog when it's down?"

"But some dogs don't stay down, Sam. They get up and try to bite you again even when you're the one to help them up. She is not your friend, and you probably did her a favor today…one can only hope. Now, stop talking about that stupid bitty and get to the really juicy part…are you and Jason back together? Does this mean what I think it means - are you finally gonna stop dancing around each other?"

"I don't know what it means, Maxie. We're not exactly back together, but I'm not running from him anymore either. I've tried that and it always fails." Sighing deeply, Sam contemplated her next move. "I don't know, maybe we can try spending time together again, he's always been really good company."

Scoffing, Maxie shook her head. "You always seemed to think so…to me the man is a block of silent rage…but I have to admit…not with you, though. He always seemed to come alive with you, somehow. You are each other's soulmates, Sam. You owe it to yourselves and your son to find out if this can lead you back to your family."

"It wasn't that long ago that he wanted a _different_ family."

"Please - that bitch was _so_ last season! And the poor man had amnesia - you know that's the only reason he'd ever go there. That trainwreck was on its way to _nowhere_ and the only person who didn't seem to know was him, cause I guarantee you, Nurse Nutcase was well aware he'd go home, the minute he remembered what that meant. I bet you any money her plan was to get knocked up again - it's the only way she knows to hold onto these men that are never hers."

"Lucky was…he's back in town, by the way."

"I know - Nathan and I saw him the other night at the Floating Rib. You're right, he was hers for a time…and look how she treated him? Trust me, it would be just a matter of time before she spread her legs and cheated on Jason too and tried to trap him with some kid that wasn't even his."

Sam was growing tired of hearing and talking about the woman. "What's up - what brought you here?"

"I actually was just driving by and saw you were here, and I remember I had this for Danny." Reaching to the backseat of her car, Maxie grabbed a small gift bag and dropped it on Sam's lap. "Crimson just wrapped a kids shoot and I nabbed these for Danny. Tell me he won't look simply adorbs in them?"

Sam opened the bag and had to smile. Though she'd never force her son to dress up if he didn't want to, she had to admit that Maxie often kept him styling in the coolest gear. "He just got some bowties from Spencer that will go great with these. She held up the green suspenders and chuckled, "He likes the ones Spinelli wears when he's dressed up like Dick Tracy. He'll love them, Maxie - thank you!"

"You're welcome. I can't wait to see him in them with his little bowtie…he's so damn cute."

Sam placed the suspenders back in the bag and studied her friend. "How about you, how are you?"

"Couldn't be better, actually…which makes me nervous as hell, to tell you the truth. You know me, Sam - my life is one disaster after another, so when things are going this good, it makes me hella nervy. Family's well, job keeps me busy, Nathan couldn't be sweeter…whatever's coming is gonna be a doozie!"

"Oh, stop it! Maybe you're all paid up, you ever thought of that? After all the shit you've taken, maybe life has decided you're paid in full. Don't look for trouble where there is none, my friend. Take your own advise…enjoy your man and your family, have fun at the job that was made for you, and stay being my fabulous, unstoppable friend. I love you, you know that?"

"Okay, you're right…why look for trouble when it's had no problem finding me on its own. I love you too. Now, get your gorgeous self out - I gotta go before Nina sends a death squad looking for me." She smiled and waved when Sam got out, smiling back. "Luck!"

Watching as she put her car in reverse, Sam waved from the parking lot, "Luck!" She stood there for another minute, thinking how Maxie was right. She and Jason had some work to do but it wasn't anything that either was afraid of, and they were definitely worth it. Danny was more than worth it. Sam got in the SUV and rubbed Captain's head thoughtfully. Amnesia and Liz Webber - nothing they hadn't overcome and put soundly behind them before, so if that was all that stood in their way, if that was the tallest obstacle to their forever, it was a mere matter of time before the Morgans were back for good…solid, indestructible, unstoppable. Because when it came to them and everything else around them, there was ever only everything and nothing…and they had always, and would forever be only one of those things. They were inevitably on their way to everyfuckingthing!


	34. Chapter 34

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing?" Jason flipped on his belly and pounded the pillow that welcomed his head, stretching tired body she'd emptied of all fluids. "You've knocked me out - can't you tell?" He heard the soft words falling from lips that had just left the curvaceous surfaces of her, those memories wrenching a tiny smile that drifted his eyes closed in mellow satisfaction.

"Nuh-huh!" Yanking the covers he'd just pulled above his waist…blasphemously covering a body that was meant to be sculpted…Sam broke herself from a familiar trance and shook her head to clear the pursuing daze. "Out! You can't stay."

"What? Why not?"

"Danny - that's why! Out!" She shoved him towards the edge of the bed for good measure. "You can't stay the night - we agreed!"

"Actually, no…you said you don't want to confuse him…I said I don't see why me being here when he wakes up would. No agreeing there."

She was resting back on her elbows with the sheet loosely strewn off one delightful peak, riveting him to the sweaty sexy picture she presented looking at him agape, her thick raven tresses freshly tossed from their umpteenth round in the bedroom that night.

"The last thing we need is for Danny to come in here in the middle of the night or before daybreak, to find us in bed together."

He knew she was right, but still…their son was too young to understand…seeing him there would have more of an effect on her than it would their babyboy…suggesting a permanence and commitment that hadn't been discussed or agreed upon. Jason knew she wasn't ready to go for any of that…and he wouldn't push her. But lord knows he didn't want to leave. Being with her this way, being in their home, with their baby, loving them the way he did - it was every single thing missing from his life and all he wanted for his days. They'd made love in every room of the penthouse since that day in her office, and each time it felt more and more like he was home, and got harder and harder for him to leave.

Raising himself on one elbow, he hovered by her face to search sultry eyes, allowing an intent gaze to study long lashes that fluttered soft kisses against her glowing skin. "So you're just going to use me for my body then kick me out? Tired and drained - what if I fall asleep at the wheel? Imagine how bad you'll feel you sent me to my demise like this? Letting me stay is more for you than it is for me - I don't want you having to deal with that kind of guilt." The smile lifted his lips at the bullshit meter sparking her chocolate orbs.

"So pathetic - staying for me - really? How generous and selfless of you…however, I need you to get that gorgeous bod up and out, _q-ui-etly_ , before Danny hears you." Allowing appreciative eyes to sweep the impressive torso inching towards her, Sam shivered from the involuntary jolt evoked by the closeness of him. A suddenly dry throat could only utter an unconvincing squeak, even as his head descended to the upturn of hers, subconsciously waiting for the burn of his lips. "Ooout."

He was moving closer, the magnet that drew him to her in full force, his lazy gaze falling on the delicious pout just waiting for his kiss, a kiss he felt compelled to plant…until he was mere inches from the surface. Purposely pulling up from the urge, Jason tossed the sheet off his body and swung his nakedness from the bed, acutely aware of the disappointment he'd evoked when the kiss she'd anticipated was detoured.

"I feel so used." Shaking his head in mock hurt, he pulled the black boxer briefs over his hips to snap at his waist, before bending to dramatically sweep the t-shirt from the floor where she'd tossed it earlier.

Knowing fully well what he was doing, Sam couldn't deny that she yearned his sweet kiss held from her, but two could bluff this game. Following his lead from the bed, she approached him in naked glory, feeling a moment of retribution when his face took on the look of a pained mask at the sight of her moving to him.

"I'm so sorry you feel that way…how can I make it better?" Trailing a slow finger along a muscled arm, she stepped behind his body to brush a peaked chest against his solid back, the black tee forgotten where it had been retrieved from its spot on the floor. Knowing he could feel the slow glide upon his skin as she crossed behind him one side to the other, she drew her fingers to follow her direction.

"Don't try to ask me to stay now…it won't work!" You lie like a…his own voice echoed the wrench of his heart that knew all it would take was one simple word from those lips and he'd beat her back to those sheets, to her arms, to their cocoon. To spend the night in heaven…

Bringing herself to still immediately before him, feeling his eyes as they burned their way down her body, hearing the tiniest unmistakable gasp when she blew a breath across the nipple at her head, she knew she'd lost their game. He was so tall, so solid, so… _ALL MAN!_ She couldn't help it - it was almost morning and they'd been at it since they put Danny to bed, but she wasn't tired. She couldn't get too much of him, not enough of him, not nearly enough. It was as though making up for lost time…everytime she felt or saw or heard him, touched him…she had to have him!

Jason couldn't take any more. Dropping the tee back to the floor, he clasped her beautiful face between both hands and stepped into her, meeting the eyes that bore into him as his head lowered to claim the lips that had been teasing, stalling the gorgeous smile when he crushed them with his own, backing her towards the balcony door. When his tongue pushed against her to demand admittance and she opened in anticipating welcome, he could feel the hardened peak of her breasts against his chest. Lifting her from the floor, bracing the glass to her back when his lips tore from hers to land on a peaked goodness, his tongue flicked hard then laboriously circled one before moving right to the other.

"Oohhhhhhhh!" She was floating mid-lift at the feel of his strong tongue upon her burning skin and as she closed her eyes in relent to whatever he wanted to do to her, she came a little at the realization of just what that was when she was hoisted above his shoulders, her back still to the cool glass as her legs were guided to swing open at his head, his lips burning their way down her belly. Excited anticipation turned blissful wanton when hot lips smacked against her pubic mound and the first long stroke of his tongue laved the opening to her core.

"Ttttttttt - ohmygawd!"

The cool of the glass and the heat of his mouth had her straddling reality and ecstasy and her body lost all will except to wrap his neck with her thighs as her hands moved above her head to brace back against the glass, giving her leverage to ease from the surface with a sinful push against the tongue stroking her senseless - moving across her clit again and again, alternately diving inside her at a steady pace that sent her head banging back and her thighs squeezing tighter.

" _Jas…son!_ " Every nerve in her body clenched tight and dotted hearts flitted her vision when the next stroke of his tongue coiled into a pull of her clit to fill his mouth, eliciting a groan from his throat that sounded his enjoyment at the taste and teasing of her nub. It was more than she could bear. " _JAAAASONNN_!"

Jerking through spasm after spasm that rocked her right through, Sam grabbed the back of his head and ground out the orgasm that emptied her onto his waiting tongue that lapped every drop of her, before falling back against the glass, struggling to catch her breath. She heard the satisfied groan that followed his last smack against her pussy lips and felt herself being lowered to his mid section, opening her eyes to a silent command that brought her to meet his smug gaze upon her happy face. Something hard and steely rubbed against her sensitive clit, eliciting renewed excitement, sending her eyes closed again when he eased into her with just the velvet tip of him, then stopped, forcing her eyes to open in question. Satisfied at her silent obedience, he grated past her walls to fully engorge her with his thickness, all the while keeping her eyes riveted to his.

"That's it, baby…I want to see you."

Grunting when the tip of him met the deepest core of her, he stilled and clenched his teeth against how good she felt so wetly wrapped around him. One move from her and he'd break like a schoolboy his first time. But he couldn't be still for long - not with this heavenly warmth that ensconced him. The way she felt, the way she smelled, the way she moved…she was moving, restless and needy like him, wanting more, needing all. Her arms wrapped his neck and her legs tightened at his waist as she hoisted herself and thrust him again, moaning out the pleasure wrought from his shaft encased within her.

" _Jason_ …"

The gravelly whisper of his name upon her lips sounded sexy to his ear.

"Tell me, baby. Tell me what you want."

"You! You - I want you! I want _you_!"

"What else?" Full force stabs were pressing her into the glass and he knew he should ease up - he was so much bigger and he would crush her tiny, tiny frame…but she was squeezing tight, meeting his thrusts with grinding ones of her own, fogging his senses and drowning him in euphoria…all he could feel was her grip upon his shaft that plundered her delicious walls, her big bouncing breasts crushed to his chest and her teeth now cinching at his neck, where she bit down against the pleasure that had replaced the blood in her veins. His grunt got louder and the pounding sent him deeper inside her. Clenching everything on the building tension, Sam screamed when he slammed her so hard she sensed leaving her body to soar the clouds, his name the only sound she wanted to ever make again.

" _JAASS_ …"

The sound of his name drowned in her throat when his tongue sent it sinking against the orgasm she screamed from every pore. Gripping him tight with every part of her - walls, arms, legs, lips - surfaces that locked amid the explosions coloring her brain and fluttering her stomach, she relished the grunt that preceded his stab through his own shattering geyser that broke through him to fill her with his seed. As she turned to jello and mush, she limped against him and stroked his tongue with her own…a slow, sensual, heady dance that gave him everything that atomic bomb had not taken from her body. She had never felt more his.

Jason couldn't move. His knees were weak and he knew his body was dead weight upon her but if he moved it might all disappear. With his eyes still closed and his breathing shallow, he could be sure he was here in this place, inside this incredible woman, in this heaven where she'd taken him back again. He had never felt more hers.

Slowly, the first lights of the day began to seep into Sam's consciousness, bringing her back to the comfort of his weight pressed into her in the room that smelled of sex, back to the reality that placed them in a compromising position. She loved the world she got transported to during intimate times with him, but the one they lived in now wasn't bad either…this one, where they had a little boy who was about to open his eyes to the day.

Forcing her limbs to obey and her brain to register, Sam stirred against the man she loved, her movement causing him to shift so he could look down upon her face, her eyes smiling at the sudden shaking of his head.

"You don't want me to move?"

"No. Not ever again. I want you to stay right here, just like this, for the rest of our lives." He meant every word.

"Don't you think that could become a problem?"

His head was shaking again and he really hadn't moved except for that.

Sam was still smiling. "No? You don't think our five year old will notice that his parents are glued to the glass? Naked? Little traumatic, don't you think?"

"Danny'll be too deep in Frosted Flakes and Star Wars to miss us - won't give us a second thought." When his weakened knees could hold up no longer, he slid them to the floor, still refusing to set her loose.

Scratching on the bedroom door managed to bore through the reverie, making Sam aware she'd been hearing whimpering too.

"I can't take Captain out neither? That could become a real mess on your hands."

A minute of deliberation where he listened to the scratching and soft whimpering brought him to a compromise. "Okay, I'll take Captain out and get Danny ready, but you have to promise to lay in that bed and don't move a gorgeous inch 'til I get back."

She really needed to sleep but even after he'd left, she was still so wound up sleep was the furthest from her mind, so she gave in to a long hot shower instead.

"Sam, are you up?"

She'd forgotten it was Krissy's day with Danny. Since she'd been home, she picked him up every Friday morning and they had breakfast at Kelly's before she dropped him off at Preschool.

"In here, Krissy!" Snapping the bra in place before pulling the long-sleeved red tee over her head, Sam was just buttoning the acid wash blue jeans when her little sister entered the bedroom.

"Good mor…"

Briefly meeting her eyes before abruptly turning to the dresser for the hairbrush, Sam anticipated the nosy question to follow the cut off sentence.

"Have you and Jason been going at it?"

Refusing to make eye contact, Sam concentrated on detangling her freshly shampooed hair.

"One - mind your business. Two - it's none of your business."

Gripping her sister's elbow, Kristina yanked her round to face her as the brush sank in her limp hand, the hue of her face suddenly matching that of the shirt she wore.

"You have!" The huge smile that broke across her face exulted nosy elation. "OMG, you and Jason are back together!"

Turning her back again, Sam resumed brushing through the tresses that were almost dry. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Undeterred, Kristina took a quick step to place herself in front of Sam again. "This room _reeks_ of a sweaty all-nighter and you're _GLOWING_! You did - you took him back!" Her eyes fell to the floor behind Sam, who she quickly moved past to sweep the telltale scraps of ripped black lace that she spun back to swing smugly on two fingers.

When embarrassed heat rushed to her face in remembrance of Jason shredding the panties with both hands to get to her, Sam laid the brush on the dresser then turned to walk through the door, biting her lower lip anxiously. Kristina raced to follow as she headed down the stairs where the sound of the tv announced Danny was already up. Just as they reached the bottom, the front door opened and Captain strolled in, followed closely by Jason, who had already removed his leash. Sam felt a slap to her arm just as Kristina snorted and stepped past her, watching the dog go straight for Danny's arms when he slid off the couch at their entrance.

"Jason! How sweet of you to come over so early to take the dog out - isn't that right, Sam?"

Jason, who was surprised to find someone else there so early, looked from Kristina to Sam, who'd also made a beeline to kiss Danny good morning.

"Kristina."

He hung Captains leash by the door and approached his son who was now oblivious to the cartoon images onscreen in favor of petting the black shiny coat of his best friend. Jason had learned in recent months that engaging Kristina in conversation was bound to lead one of two places…utter embarrassment or nosy prying. He was always safer avoiding it at all cost.

Sam was quick to head her off when she turned to follow behind Jason, obviously getting ready to launch an interrogation. Grabbing her sister by the arm, she guided her softly towards the door. "You're going to be late and I need to make sure Danny has a solid breakfast before you drop him off, so you _can't_ be late." She grabbed her sister's coat from the rack and rammed it to her chest before turning with Danny's in hand. "Come on Buddy - lets get you bundled up." She held the coat as he slipped tiny sweatshirt-covered arms inside the sleeves. "Nice outfit, by the way…are you ever going to give the other ones in your closet a chance?"

The tiny grin was a mirrored image of his father's mischievous smirk. "I like this one."

"Yes, yes I know…I haven't been able to pry it off you in days." The blue sweatshirt zipped up into a picture of ironman that he'd received from an outing with Molly the week before and he'd practically lived in it since.

When she'd finally managed to wrangle Kristina through the door after kissing her son, Sam turned to Jason to do the same.

"You too - out. I have work to do." The innocent look sent her way was expected and instantly slapped down. "No - don't even try. I need to gear up for an appointment and I can't do it with you here distracting me."

"I'm your partner - sure you don't need my help? Who's the meeting with?"

"A nice harmless VP in the middle of a very busy high-rise in the heart of a bustling downtown Port Charles, so no chance of anyone shooting me up with anything and kidnapping me to the high seas. I've got this one, but I need to get some files together for show and tell - I can't have you diverting me."

He'd been moving into her space as she talked, forcing her to back up and now she'd reached the wall, bringing her movements to a halt.

"Are you sure? You never know when trouble's gonna strike." He studied the strand of her hair he was rolling between his fingers at her breast, before lifting his gaze to meet her eyes. "I'll gladly guard this body anytime, anywhere…from anything." He allowed the back of his hand to purposely stroke a nipple, while his fingers slowly rolled her hair, and soon he heard the tiny gasp he was working for.

When the mischievous glint entered his clear blue gaze, Sam fought the urge getting ready to take life from the tingle awakened by his touch. Stepping to the side of him, she quickly broke his hold upon her hair and her mind, grabbing for the handle of the front door and stepping behind it as she swung it open.

"Quite sure, Romeo. Out!"

Smiling because he knew exactly what his touch was doing to her - feeling the same tingling it elicited moving through him too - Jason nodded in acquiescence. "Okay…but I'll be back at seven…I'm taking you out tonight."

"Really? A date?"

"Yes…so get some sleep after your meeting…you're going to need it."

"Why - where are you taking me?"

"Were you always this curious before a date?"

"I don't know - we didn't really have alot of those."

"Really? Not even in the beginning?"

Sam shook her head where it rested against the door clasped between her hands. "Nope! Never quite got around to dating…we started out living together the first time, so not much point there when it turned into love. The second time around, we sorta fell into working cases and being together all the time, so we never saw the point of it then either."

Bending his head to brush her lips in a soft kiss, he lingered to the caress of that softness, teasing the entrance that opened to him invitingly, before he pulled back to see her pupils.

"Then I guess I better get it right this time, haven't I?" Smiling, he dropped a quick, hard kiss to her lips then backed out the door. "See you in a few hours, gorgeous. Enjoy your day."

Finding herself still smiling at the open doorway after the elevator had come and gone, Sam broke from the reverie and closed the door. Did Jason Morgan really just charm her and plan a date for the evening? She literally could count on one hand the number of dates they'd had during their years together…something or someone was always interrupting when they'd tried. They'd been to a couple events on the Haunted Star, and they'd had dinner on the rooftop more than once, but something always seemed to come up to cut it short. The last time he proposed to her by moonlight on the roof was truly the last date she could remember they'd been able to finish, but even that evening had been interrupted by a stream of people teeming through the penthouse after, robbing them of the afterglow befitting that perfect evening. His mother, her mother…even his distastefully distraught ex had chosen that sacred night to bring her troubles crying to his door…as usual! It was going to be interesting to see if he could really pull the evening off.


	35. Chapter 35

" _I told you so!_ "

Jason looked up from the coffee cup he just placed on the bar after taking a sip, to the gloating blonde tilting the carafe to refill the steaming liquid. She sported a cheshire grin, which he somehow knew he was used to seeing on her, as she patted the shoulder of the bartender she was relieving to take his place behind the bar, then poured herself a cup too. "Right in this very spot, I might add!"

"You really shouldn't gloat, Carly…it's not very nice."

"No, it's not - and usually I wouldn't - not with you, anyway…but this time you deserve it! _I-told-you-so!"_

Shaking his head as she repeated herself, drawn out for effect, he decided to play dumb rather than feed the bear. "What is it you're so right about?"

"Don't give me that…there is only _one_ woman in this world who's _ever_ put that soppy, besotted look on your face… ** _one!_** " She pushed the cup aside and bent over the bar to hover near his face. "Fess up - she took you back, didn't she?"

Backing away and taking another sip, Jason was noncommittal in his response, knowing it wouldn't deter her in the least but refusing to add fuel to any fire she'd fan.

"You're crazy."

"And you're still as crazy about her as you've always been…so happy to see you finally took your head outta your ass and did something about it!"

"Carly…"

"Don't try to deny it - you've been moping in your beer for months, looking like somebody kicked your puppy. Now look at you! You don't even know you're sitting there smiling, do you?"

He was? How long had he been doing that?

"I'm just enjoying a cup of coffee…at least I was."

"Yea, yea - you don't have to tell me - it's written all over your face. Bout damn time, is all I'm gonna say. It was just _weird_ watching you commit your life to Satan - welcome back!" She clinked her coffee cup to the one he had resting on the bar and brought it to her lips, grinning through the sip she took before placing it back down. "Speaking of Satan…whatever happened to that suit my idiot cousin filed for Jake? Did the new paternity test show he's not yours yet?"

Jason's eyes widened in startled wonder. "What? Why would you say something like that?"

"C'mon Jase - it had to have crossed your mind once or twice, knowing what a lying cheat that woman is, that he could really be Lucky's afterall? I'm your best friend - you can tell me?"

"Jake is my son. You yourself have remarked on the resemblance between us and the way our mannerisms are so similar - more than once! She even had a test done to prove it - what would make you ask that?"

"I admit he looked alot like you when he was a baby, but honestly, we saw what we were led to believe. He's an adorable little blond boy, quiet and reserved like you are, but the truth is, he was just being a baby. Lots of children are quiet and laid back - doesn't make them yours. No - my cousin is blond and blue-eyed too - those traits we all saw in him could easily be linked to Lucky."

"But they're _not!_ Jake is _my_ son! Things didn't work out with his mother but I don't regret him!"

"Of course you don't - I wouldn't want you to, either. But you must regret the circumstances of his arrival and how they continue to come between you and what you want."

"Not true - Sam has no problem with me being a father to him. Matter of fact, she encourages it, so there's no strain on our relationship."

" ** _Aha!_** So there _is_ a relationship! I knew it!" She clapped his hand where it laid on the bar and covered his fingers with all ten of her own. "So what are you doing here? You have a ton of lost time to make up for - all those months you spent apart while Sam was pregnant with Danny…that entire damn year you wasted sniffing up the town tramp…" She tapped his wrist, "…go on, get outta here - go remind yourself and Sam what you lost…what you're getting back!"

He wasn't surprised she got her way by tricking him into admittance before he was ready - Carly Corinthos very often got her way.

"Later. I have a visit with Jake on Spoon Island." He rose from the stool and grabbed the small brown takeout bag before he waved a hand above his head as he turned to leave.

"Okay, but don't keep Sam and Danny waiting. You did that enough already. Make them the priority again, Jase - you hear me?" Another wave of his hand over his head was all the response she received as she watched him leave, the smile spreading across her face at how much lighter even the steps he took appeared to be. Her friend was finally happy again and she couldn't be happier for him.

Jason rode the launch to the island, hating everytime he had to step foot on the patch of land but making the sacrifice to ensure his son never felt abandoned by him. The emergency hearing had not gone quite as he'd hoped when temporary custody was granted to the man proclaiming himself as their father after being gone from their lives for so long, a testament to how little regard the courts showed their mother's claims of being a healthy, stable provider for them. Sam had somehow managed to convince the man not to restrict his access to his son, and Alexis agreed and even proposed the every other weekend visitation he was allowed until the permanent custody hearing was to take place…the fight that Diane was really gearing up for. It wasn't his weekend but Jake had called and asked him to come. He was home with the flu, alone with the staff apparently.

Feeling his spirit dampen the minute he set foot off the launch, Jason forced himself to remember why he was there, which did the trick and lightened his heart by the time he was shown to the den, where Jake was waiting.

"Dad, you came!" He coughed as he tried to get up from where he laid on the couch, his frail upper body rocking with the mild exertion.

"No, don't move." Taking a seat at his side, Jason reached out and felt his forehead with the back of his hand. "Fever's not so bad - how're you feeling?"

"Fine. Glad you're here, dad."

"Of course I'm here - I'll always come when you need me." Holding the bag up, Jason showed him what he brought. "Your aunt Carly swears the MetroCourt's chicken soup is a wonder drug."

"Thanks but I'm not hungry."

"He hasn't had much of an appetite." When Elizabeth turned the corner she'd frozen in her tracks at the beautiful sight of her middle son and the man she wanted for so long to be the only father they knew. Moving into the room, she approached them cautiously, fresh memories of the last time she saw him devastating her mind anew. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my son. Why are you here?"

"I'm staying here while Jakey recovers and it's my weekend with the boys." He still looked so very good - something about him even more striking than usual. He kept his eyes glued to Jake, whom he went back to addressing with a quick dismissal to her attempt at conversation.

"You got this at school, didn't you?"

"Yes, it's been going around in his class. Thank goodness the other boys haven't been hit by it so they're at my grandmother's until Jake gets better." She stopped moving right at his side, unable to fight the urge to deeply inhale the scent of him, desperately yearning to brush her hand against any part of him. She'd barely seen him in recent weeks, and when she had he'd been with _them_. It got so familiar places around town felt haunted to her now, as he was always there making new memories that didn't include her, didn't include their happily ever after. It was all so wrong. "They'd love to see you."

"I'm yours for the afternoon, buddy - what do you want to do?"

"He's going to be resting!"

Jason looked to the doorway where the cold announcement from the man entering the room carried his annoyance clearly. "Jason - you should call before you come here. This is not what I agreed to." Lucky came to a stop before the couch and looked from his ex-wife to the man her loose legs had given a permanent spot in their lives, knowing if he had his way they would both have the least amount of contact with his children as neither were stable enough influences.

"I called dad, dad!"

Jake's feeble response brought all eyes to him again, the statement sounding somehow comical to Jason's ears. How exactly had his son been forced to call two men by the same monicker? How confusing this shit must be to him! He'd never do anything to make it harder.

"It's okay pal. I'm going to leave so you can get some rest. Drink your soup - I'll see you next weekend, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

Briefly passing his lips across his forehead, Jason could feel his temperature was still warmer than usual. He hated to see him sick but at least, though she was lousy at being a good person, his mother was good at being a nurse, making this probably one situation where she was actually better for their son. The man, on the other hand…

" _Lucky!"_ Jason grumbled the name as he passed him, striding for the open doorway in avoidance of an incident that could only frighten and further confuse Jake.

"I'll walk you out."

Of course you will. He straightened his back in preparation for the self-righteous scolding, stopping for it just outside the front door where he faced the man exiting behind him.

"I don't need a sitter - what can I do for you?"

"You can call to get my permission before you show up here. I don't want you seeing Jake without me there to protect my son."

"Who do you think was protecting _my_ son while you were living it up on another continent? All this fatherly concern is a little hypocritical and late, don't you think?"

"I'm not excusing my absence - I took some much needed time for me that served to get my head on straight to where my boys will now benefit. But come on, Jason - we both know that it's by pure luck some deranged lunatic hasn't shown up by now to wreak havoc on everyone you care about, just to get your attention. I don't want my son becoming a victim to the way you choose to live."

"So, I suppose you've been living like a boyscout these last few years, then? We can't expect any Irishmen to show up in town hot on your trail for retribution? Your newfound wealth is squeaky clean, is that it?"

"I will never let anything I have, or haven't done, touch my children. Can you say the same?"

Jason could actually remember he'd accepted a long time ago that they would forever blame him for every cloud that passed over town, rest every bad or unfortunate thing to happen to them at his feet, and for the longest time he'd willingly accepted their derision and contempt. When it felt deserved.

"Yack all you want about the Russian kidnapping but let's not forget that the most horrifying thing to happen to Jake wasn't because of me, and it happened on _your_ watch, not mine!"

Lucky's chin lifted and he felt like he'd taken a hit square on. He knew better than to bring up a period they'd all lived in hell, mourning what they thought at the time was the death of the sweetest little boy they all loved, Jason Morgan included. He knew better…but he'd use anything at his disposal to save his child. Anyone was fair game. Squaring his shoulders, he folded tense arms and met the cold gaze boring through him.

"That was an accident! If you weren't being so selfish you would see that insisting on a role in Jake's life, insisting on being around Danny and Sam, puts them in danger every single day. The Jason I knew would do the right thing for all concerned."

Smirking coldly, Jason sneered at the man with a learned distaste. "There it is, finally. You actually think you can guilt me into pushing Sam away again?" Shaking his head in disdain, he went about setting the record perfectly straight. "The Jason you knew was a **_patsy_** and maybe that's why you and Elizabeth have gotten stuck on repeat, thinking you'll be able to yank my chain like you've done in the past. I don't know what makes either of you think I'd take advise about my family from you…but nobody but Sam and I decide what we do - _nobody_."

"Fine - I can't tell you how to handle your family - but Jake is **_my_** family and I will protect him against you if it's the last thing I do."

"Wrong again, Spencer…Jake is **_my_** son…xc vca fact you choose to forget when it pleases you but something you can't remove from our DNA. I hope you're prepared because there's no way Diane and I will watch you walk away with my son again."

"I don't want to have to fight you - it's not what's best for Jake." He had every confidence in Alexis' ability but he was also quite aware of Diane's bite, and he wasn't so sure that when it came to the meat of everything that Alexis wouldn't soften to what her daughter wanted.

"I couldn't care less what you want! He will always know me as his father and I'll make sure you never forget it again."

Turning away, Jason went straight for the launch and made way for the mainland, his mind soon switching gears to the plans he needed to fine-tune for the evening.

Elizabeth inched her chin up when Lucky reentered the foyer, refusing to be abashed at getting caught eavesdropping.

"I tried to tell you. You may be able to fight me - wrestle my babies from my arms - but Jason and that pitbull he keeps on retainer are going to eat you alive. Bet you wish you'd taken my offer now?"

"What offer is that - to leave my sons to your neglectful, harmful parenting and turn a blind eye to how you were treating them like afterthoughts? No thanks - I passed on that one remember?"

"Oh, insult me all you want - I'm not the one you need to be afraid of now. I'm not the one you can't bully and browbeat into submission. You're about to find out just how much Jason loves this family."

"I've never doubted his love for Jake, but I sure as hell doubt his ability to parent him - just like I've come to doubt yours! Look at you - gloating, like him wanting Jake somehow means he wants you too."

Her mouth pursed in angry petulance. "He wanted me once."

Crashing bitter lips to her ear by purposely leaning extra close in passing, his voice was but the softest, most bitter, slowest whisper, " _But he doesn't want you now._ "

Without another glance he made his way to the den to check on his son. To hell with her and her childish infatuations wiping out all else…to hell with _him_ and that cocky supremacy he'd always lorded over everything sacred of his - the man had helped himself to his wife, to his infant son, to his happiness - he'd be _damned_ if he'd let him help himself to what was left.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Don't consider this to be a complaint, but _how_ are we even here right now?"

The incredulous tone of Maxie's question travelled to Sam where she laid back in the massage chair, her eyes closed behind cucumber slices and the manicurist buffing away at neglected fingernails. Using a free hand to remove the slices, she looked over at her friend sitting next to her, obviously in heaven behind a seaweed mask, reveling in the foot massage in progress.

"What - I can't treat my girl to a spa day?"

"You? No! You hate this stuff. How anybody can hate getting pampered and prettified, I'll never know…but you equate it to a visit to the dentist and you know it."

Relaxing and easing the slices back in place, Sam smiled. "Not true. I dig a good massage every now again…just depends who's giving it!"

Maxie chuckled softly. "I hear that! But still, **_you_** willingly volunteering for this instead of a few rounds at the gun range - suppen's up - spill."

"Wrong. I get a mani-pedi all the time but I prefer a short snip for work, so I'm usually in and out, that's all. No time for nails tearing on my way down a fire escape or fending off a perp."

"I know you'll do nails but we were just neck deep in mud - you don't volunteer for that, so either you want something, or you have something really juicy to share, and judging from the glow you had even _before_ the facial, I'm guessing it's the latter. I'm way past ready. Go!"

Sam chuckled aloud, having to admit that she felt pretty bright on the inside. She was so happy these days she was almost afraid to believe any of it - and certainly wasn't about to jinx it by voicing it too soon. No - that glorious thing happening between them was only for them for now.

"I actually have to go to work…"

"Sorry guys - sorry I'm late!" Lulu Falconeri entered wearing a matching fluffy white robe and sank into the chair next to Maxi. "Dante got called into work so I had to drop Rocco off at Olivia's - what'd I miss?"

Sam blew at her nails and wiggled to the edge of the chair. "You're just in time, actually. Now I can take off free of guilt that I'm not ditching the duchess alone in a mud bath." The manicurist took her by the elbow to help as she scooted off the chair. "I have to go."

"What - I just got here."

"You're both wrong for this…" Maxie tossed the cucumber slices to the handrest and glared over at Sam, "…you for running out on our afternoon…," then she turned to Lulu, "…and you for almost missing it! Nothing disturbs spa day - haven't I taught you two anything?"

"I'm sorry, Maxie but you know when you have children nothing is ever off limits again." Lulu sank her feet into the whirling spa and leaned back indulgently, "Oh, that feels good."

Sam took the distraction to quickly move to her feet and edge backwards to the door as she bundled the white robe at her neck. "I'll make it up to you, I promise…and this one's still on me! Call you later." She hurried from the room before they could stop her, knowing she only had a couple hours before a much anticipated evening with the man who's mention alone got her tingly all over. She ignored Maxie's words that trailed behind her, _"You don't fool me, Sam Morgan!"_


	36. Chapter 36

Sam was crossing the floor to the kitchen for a drink of water when the knock sounded at the front door, surprising her almost as much as the quick skip of a heartbeat. Masking the excitement that had been steadily building as the time grew closer, she was betrayed when an involuntary smile rose from within her anyway, the moment she laid eyes on his tall frame leaning against the frame. Appreciative eyes roved her face and Sam could feel the heat multiply.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself. Didn't we say seven?"

She moved aside to allow him entrance when he pushed himself upright and took a step forward.

"We did."

Hands thrusted inside his jeans pockets, he tilted his head slightly. "Not that I mind you in any state of undress whatsoever, but you'll need to dress warmer than that." The slinky shorty robe parted slightly to hint at treasures beneath.

"Well, since you didn't bother to tell me where we're going I figured I'd wait for you to show up to see how I should dress."

Nodding doubtfully, he followed when she turned towards the stairs. "Whatever you say. It's not like you're just running late as usual, I'm sure."

She'd forgotten how well he knew some things about her even while he'd forgotten others. After a quick chastising look back, Sam ambled up the stairs to get ready, descending minutes later in jeans and a long sleeve black tee to match his attire sine he wouldn't tell her anything. Jason was waiting by the door with her scarf and jacket in hand.

"Gotta button you up - it's cold."

She pushed her arms through the jacket he held open for her then lifted her long lochs over the collar. "It's almost Spring and we're not going to be outside for long, are we?"

Instead of answering he opened the door and guided her out.

"Jason, where exactly are we going?"

Pushing the button for the elevator, he answered calmly, "For a ride." That was all she got out of him until she got to the garage and realized he was riding the bike.

"Are we taking my car?"

He got on and held an helmet back to her. "Nope."

"Jason, it's freezing. We can't ride your bike in this weather."

"You said it yourself…it's almost Spring. It's not that cold and where we're going, the view is much better from the bike. Are you getting chicken on me?"

After slipping the helmet in place, she climbed behind him and looped her arms around his waist. "If it's chicken to not want to die of pneumonia or have my face freeze in place from ninety mile whipping wind, then yea - I guess I am."

"Well, don't worry - I promise to keep you **_very_** warm."

When he exited town not long after and steered them towards the woods, it was all familiar for awhile but he then took a tiny road she didn't know. Her body leant snugly into him and her head rested at his back, while gloved fingers splayed softly at his waist. It was cold but not unbearably, and the unevenness of the road slowed them as Sam listened to the quiet, relishing the feeling of being truly alone together, blissfully reminiscent of so many rides spent just like this. When he stopped the bike at the beginning of a path that went on into a cluster of trees and brushes, she alighted and marveled at the solitude around them.

"Where the heck are we?"

He followed and took her by one hand, taking her helmet with the other to rest it on the seat of the bike, asking with a soft squeeze, "Do you trust me?"

"Without hesitation." She smiled at dancing blue eyes that were pleased with her answer. "Yes!"

"Good. We're about a mile that way." His head jerked in the direction of the trees as he squeezed her fingers again and began to pull her with him.

"So we brave the cold on bike-back into the woods to go hiking? Oh, I can't wait for this." Mild skepticism tinged eager anticipation that was growing as she reached forward to clasp her hand over the one he held as he led her behind him then under an arm that wrapped her securely, a childlike excitement taking hold within her.

"Are you cold?" He rubbed a sleeved arm vigorously and pulled her closer.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just really curious and getting more so."

"Good. The short walk will warm you up but I promise to happily take care of it if that does't work."

"Oh, really? If the bears don't eat us first? When did you start coming to the woods at night?"

"I've actually only been here during the day but it was so beautiful I've wondered what it would look like at night. We could've waited until it got warmer but I wanted to show it to you tonight."

Hearing he wanted to share something he enjoyed with her brought the same warm feeling it always did in the past when he would let her into parts of him other people never got to see. "I'd go anywhere with you, day or night. Our son's tucked away at his grandmother's with his aunts spoiling him rotten, so he won't miss us for awhile even if we get eaten. But you could've warned me to wear hiking boots…these heels ain't exactly made for walkin."

He hadn't thought of that. Easy enough fix though. "Here…" he guided her behind him to climb onto his back, smiling when she giggled in the hoist and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're light as a feather, you know that?"

Rippled muscles caressed her arms as she locked her legs in place in front of him, and Sam had to admit she completely enjoyed her new perch and the view from up high. Their way was lighted by the half moon lending its ethereal beauty to the night.

"What's that sound?"

"You'll soon see."

Craning her neck to see up ahead, she gasped when they emerged from the trees. "Is that…?" She eased from his back to walk around in front of him, filled with wonder at his beautiful surprise. "A hot spring? Here?" She spun to face him. "How did you find this?"

"Same way I found the cabin the first time. I was on a ride and the trail was just familiar somehow, so I followed it and this is what I found."

"I had no idea." She was already removing the scarf, sending it falling to the ground to be closely followed by her jacket, top, boots and jeans. "You coming?" She walked to the very edge and dipped a toe in, pulling it back slowly as she reached behind her to unclasp the bra.

"Please…" Cool fingers replaced hers against her skin that tingled where they touched, "…allow me."

The clasp fell away and Sam turned to face him again as she lowered her arms to let the lacy fabric fall and her fingers followed his kneeling to push the matching panties to her ankles, her eyes never leaving his face as he wordlessly watched them flitter to the ground.

She was standing before him, naked and ravishingly beautiful to his hungry eyes, in the middle of nature, kissed by the moonlight and unfazed by the cold as she reached a hand out for him getting back up again. Jason guided her steps to the edge to let go and watch her dive in, disappearing for a few seconds before she resurfaced and laughed out loud.

"This is amazing! The water's wonderful - come on!"

But he couldn't move for the longest while. The picture she presented, radiating hotter than the steam coming off the water with the moonlight casting her in the softest glow, and he soon realized he just wanted to watch her. She looked happy and free and he loved seeing her this way.

"What are you waiting for? Come join me."

"I just want to stand here and look at you."

"But I'm lonely."

He watched her hands threading water as she dipped her chin to conceal a devilish grin and he soon found he was wearing one too.

"Well…" Already at the edge, he dropped his jacket and flipped the t-shirt over his head, "…can't have that."

The heat of the water kissed his skin when he joined her, reaching out simultaneously to her arms already wrapping his neck. Up close, with wet hair sleeked back from her face, Jason was reminded once again how overpoweringly striking she was. One hand traced her side beneath the water to pull her closer still, studying each contour, each feature that took his breath away.

"You're a _beautiful_ woman, you know that?" The smile that widened and radiated from her only added to that allure.

"Flattery and a hot spring, Mr. Morgan, will get you everywhere." Squishing naked breasts to his hard chest, Sam brushed his ready lips with a soft kiss, lingering to trace slowly, before she eased back to search his face. "And it will definitely get you laid."

The smirk-smile appeared effortlessly. "Well…in that case…have I told you lately how smart, and sexy, and incredibly fierce you are?" The way her head fell back when she laughed out loud again delighted and aroused him.

"Careful. You don't want to lose that edge of truth."

"Never. That's only a few of the words that come to mind every time you do."

She felt so bubbly inside with a tingle now joining the mix to broaden the smile stuck on her face all night. She was happy and alone with the one man who knew her…knew what it truly meant since he'd always been the only one to elicit that rawness from her. When she kissed him again the night fell away, sounds of the woods and softly rippled water fell silent and she was floating in a mist that tickled her insides and emptied her mind. His lips burned where they touched and his tongue played idly with the roof of her mouth, leaving a trail around her tongue and the insides of her cheeks, plundering to own her like he did. When they left her mouth to lead him to a nipple, Sam moaned in ecstasy and pushed instinctively against the pull of her skin that filled his mouth. She was wet and not only on the outside anymore, groaning again when a finger found its way inside her, stroking the building heat that wanted it replaced by something much, much bigger. He was ahead of her in thought, planting himself at her entrance to push his way in with the next stroke of his tongue on her breast, moving in tandem to thrust her fully.

"Hm!" The mumble tickled her breast when he groaned against her skin then rested his forehead there and shook his head in wonder. "You always feel so fucking good!"

The pleasure building inside her set bells bursting in her head and her body energized by his sword, her legs wrapping tighter to dig her heels into his cheeks and hoist herself to find his lips. "Shut up and kiss me!"

Clamping down to meet her command, he took control of every part of her, grabbing her cheeks to pull against every stab to the meat of her, drawing gasping, erratic moans that sent her nails sinking into his back when the orgasm built to a crescendo then shattered her belly, pulling him with her in a grip so tight it fired the hard slam to spasm his cum inside her.

Again Sam was floating, light, silvery, soft. She opened her eyes slowly to find blue scrutiny smiling at the bliss she was exuding, knowing he deserved however cocky he felt at her obvious state of pleasure, freely giving the praise he'd fully earned.

"That's how I want to keep you all the time - happy and satisfied. From now on, Sam Morgan, it's the only way you're allowed to be."

"Is that a command, Mr. Morgan?"

"It is…and I know you have trouble _obeying_ , but you have no choice…I'm putting my foot down."

"Keep this up and I won't even notice. You've been unbelievably…"

"Unbelievably? Oh, I'll make a believer out of you before the night's out. Let's go." Turning from her, Jason waded towards their discarded clothing.

"We're done? But it feels so good in here and it's cold out _there_." She splashed water in his direction for emphasis on the pouty last word.

Already half dressed, Jason quickly pulled his shirt on and retrieved her clothes from the ground. "Who said anything about being done? We're just getting started baby, but you have to get out to see the rest."

Intrigued, Sam was still smiling when she followed his lead, allowing him to help her dress and stuff her feet inside the boots. She wrung the water from her hair that was fast getting cold.

"Wet hair on the back of a bike in the snow - for sure now I'm getting pneumonia."

Jason took her hand and started moving. "There's no snow - not yet - and what happened to trusting me?"

When she noticed he was moving off to the side of the clearing and away from the direction they'd come, she looked around him puzzled.

"Sorry - I think I forgot for a second in the cold reality of winter. Where are you taking me now? Why exactly are we going _further_ into the woods?"

Before he could answer, they'd passed the new set of trees and exited to another clearing, where Sam gasped again. There was a tent set up before them and logs ready for a fire. "Jason, what's this?" He was pulling her past the logs over to the tent, where he grabbed hold of the zipper to open for entry.

"Winter camping. Time to get padded Morgan - we're spending the night under the sky." His head nudged upwards and Sam followed his gaze, hers fixing on the riveting night sky loaded with brilliant stars, that thing about being out in nature that made them appear brighter and closer than any city view, bursting on her senses.

"Oh, Jason!" The awed whisper was all she could manage before he was pulling her inside the tent, where he released her hand to find the lantern he quickly lit to brighten their room for the night.

He had everything inside the tent - a stacked cooler, warm layers of clothing with mittens and hats and extra socks. The double sleeping bag set in one corner looked inviting and Sam was about to dive for it to warm up when Jason stopped her.

"Not yet…let's layer you up."

She took the navy down jacket and long johns he held out to her and smiled at him unzipping her jacket to push if from her shoulders. "You went shopping for me?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Touching her shoulder as the jacket fell, he turned her back to him to rub her damp strands with a towel.

"You at the mall is very surprising."

"I don't even think I know where the mall is. No, Maxie may be the most talkative annoyance I've ever met in my life, but she can be pretty resourceful."

"And sneaky, apparently. She didn't say a word to me." She stood obediently allowing him to rub her hair dry.

"People generally don't when they're asked not to ruin a surprise."

"This is not the kind of surprise with Maxie's name on it…she didn't try to talk you out of bringing me camping?"

"Oh, she was horrified I wanted to bring you out here, much less in winter. My ears are still wringing from that lecture."

"Little did she know she was talking to the one person more stubborn than she is."

"Look who's talking? Who's more stubborn than you are?" When her gear was on he layered himself then pulled the wooly hat over her head and pulled the flaps to cover her cold ears. "Let's go."

Sam followed his exit from the tent where he wheeled the cooler close to the piled heap of logs. "What - no more hiking?" But he was already kneeling to make the fire that he got going in a couple minutes, stoking it to blazing glory.

"Hungry?"

From her perch on the stump near the dancing flames, Sam held her mittened hands to the welcome warmth. "I could eat."

And eat she did. As she savored strong black coffee from the mug cupped between hands that were now as toasty as the rest of her, Sam smiled at her personal chef in appreciation. She'd expected hotdogs on a stick when he offered dinner, not the gourmet steak tips and Italian herb red potatoes swimming in melted butter he brought from the cooler and warmed over the fire.

"That was delicious - and that was not camping food, by the way."

Jason smirked as he spread the embers and teased the fiery blaze. "We went camping alot?"

"Nope. Never." Sam took a sip then shook a forefinger in conjunction with her head, "Wait, I take that back…we did get stuck in the woods one night after we blew up a van of contraband."

He froze with the stick he'd been using on the fire to stare at her in a daze. "I beg your pardon?"

Laughing off his initial expression of shock, Sam regaled the night she'd broken into the Lopez' warehouse trying to get evidence that they'd burned down a Zacara warehouse that a dirty cop was trying to blame on him.

"You did what?" Somehow he was surprised and not. It surprised him everytime he learned of something daring she'd tackled head-on, guns blazing…right before he remembered that's the woman he'd come to know. "You took on armed thugs by yourself, to prove my innocence?"

"Well, to be fair, I didn't go in looking for a confrontation. The plan was to get in, get the proof we needed to clear you and get out before they knew I was even there."

"So what went wrong?"

"Plenty. Which part do you want to hear first - the part where I had to hide on a shelf when they heard the noise I made, or when I hid in the back of the van they were about to leave in, because I hadn't yet gotten anything incriminating enough, or the part where we barely got out of there when they opened fire at us trying to scale a fence?" A wide smile broke across her face when the look of astonishment grew instead of dissipate. "As you can see, we got outta there…but we thought for sure we were caught when a cop pulled up on us in the stolen van loaded with the stolen goodies, and offered to change the tire for you."

 _"_ _Wh-a-t?"_ Jason was laughing now too. He always knew she was far from boring but he apparently had no real idea. "How are you not traumatized by the life you've had, Sam?"

Shrugging and gazing into the lapping flames, Sam thought for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "I used to think I didn't have a thing to ever thank Cody McCall for - he was a lazy, thieving drunk who'd sell his own mother for a pack of smokes - but years of neglect and being used to clear his debts taught me to think on my feet and work my way through anything. Some of life's lesson's were cold, I admit it - but I learned a few things! And then I met you and got to live that wonderful life I had with you - I could face _anything_ after that!"

"Wonderful life? Every other day I find out one more way I almost got you killed. You should have gone running for the hills a long time ago!"

"That's because you don't remember how good we had it, baby. Unfortunately, it's not the first time you forgot and tried to leave me because of it…but we agreed a long time ago that it was the last. You promised to always respect my right to choose, and I chose to be with you."

He studied her silently, her quiet acceptance and soft, yet thundering assurance, saying so very much. "And I'm quite certain I chose to be with you." The soft words rang resoundingly truthful to his ears. He'd choose her a billion times over!

Sam nodded, her eyes never leaving his. "Damn right you did. It was you and me, Morgan…and they didn't come any better."

"I can tell. Still, just how many times did I have you dodging bullets and running from crazy people who sought you out to get to me?"

"Oh, you don't wanna go there - we'll be here all night!"

Jason grunted out loud. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Seriously, Sam - you never tried to talk me out of living like that? I never thought to give you a better life?"

"The one we had was pretty damn perfect, Jason! It was spectacular!" The tone of her voice took on an involuntary edge that she quickly tried to ease. "Look, don't assume the worse about yourself all the time…it pisses me off."

His eyes widened in surprise, her previous tone having caught him that way too. "Why?"

"Because you're taking away from how great you are by choosing to believe the worse. Change your mindset dammit…it's time, don't you think?"

Jason jabbed at the fire that didn't need stoking but gave his hands something to do and his troubled eyes somewhere to land. "I'm trying. It's not always that easy."

When his words echoed empty and hung with doubt, Sam knew what she needed to do. "Fine. Campfires are made for storytelling, so pull your stump up, Jason Morgan…this is the story…of your life...but first, what else is in that cooler? We're going to need something stronger than coffee for this."


	37. Chapter 37

When he turned the second wine bottle upside down in the cooler, Sam swirled the plastic cup with the last of the red nectar and giggled gleefully, the toasty warmth everywhere around and within her now.

"See - you want to be him now don'tchya? That was my Jason…those who disliked him didn't know him and those who feared him wanted to be him. But he was mine. He was all mine."

Jason smiled in appreciation of the alcohol-induced unguardedness. She was normally so careful with him, even as they grew closer in recent months she still held him at a safe distance, as if weighing his worthiness. He couldn't blame her either…he'd burned her without meaning to and as regretful as he was for doing it, he knew her skepticism had been earned. But after going through almost all of the last two bottles of wine by herself and sparing no detail of their feats together, he believed he understood her so much more. The respect he'd earlier learned for what he thought was her fortitude, multiplied in the face of what he heard tonight to be her sheer will and unbreakable spirit. She was even more phenomenal than he'd known, impressively strong in deed _and_ in character.

"That really happened? You _kicked_ him?"

"Like a Spartan!" She was nodding nonstop, then laughing when she realized it, "Yep! I thought he hurt Krissy and I was going to make him pay! He wasn't taking my challenge seriously though and _boy_ that pissed me off!"

"So you thought you'd take on a guy twice your size and with no-one there to back you up?"

"Oh, someone showed up awright. My knight, my rider…my Knightrider…get it?" When she winked and grinned Jason chuckled amusedly. She was such a cute drunk!

"I get it, I get it. What happened next?"

"Nothing - you appeared and spoiled all my damn fun! It was just about to get good when there you were - busting in from nowhere, warning Ethan that if he laid a hand on me he was a dead man." The wide grin that spread on her face grew as she curled the cup into her bosom and ogled him unashamedly. "You're so fucking hot when you go caveman over me! Poor Ethan - he thought he was dead for sure."

"Did I hurt him?"

"He didn't do anything to me, so no." She was shaking her head and staring at the fire now. "I still owe him an apology, come to think of it. I was wrong about what I thought he did…it's a good thing you wouldn't harm Luke's boy or you may have done something unchangeable because of a misguided lie."

"What lie did you tell?"

"It wasn't mine, I went there for sisterly retribution, but she later recanted it all to you, because in all that chaos and confusion, she knew she could trust you to listen. It's who you are, Jason…you have a way of coming through for people even when they give you no reason to…without them even looking. No judgment, no blame…you just _show up_ for people."

"You included, I hope."

"Are you kidding? I'm the luckiest one. You have a way of showing up whenever I need you - whether I'm stuck in a basement with a mad tattooed man or in a tunnel buried beneath debris. You show up for me…all the time!"

"Did you say _buried_?"

She nodded drunkenly. "I did, I said buried." She told him of the trainwreck and the way he found her amid a pile of rubble that would've taken rescue crews days to sift through. "You weren't even supposed to be anywhere near there - I left you home to go find Robin myself and drag her back to Port Charles to treat your seizures when you refused to accept her help because of something that had happened between you two years and years before…but there you were anyway. Just out of nowhere, digging through dirt and rocks with your bare hands to get to me. I was unconscious, nothing but blackness everywhere, and then I could feel you holding, rocking me - I could hear your voice, pleading with me to wake up. When you choked up, I had to push through the haze gripping me, to get to you…let you know I wasn't going anywhere without you. You came for me. You always come for me."

"Glad to hear I didn't always treat you like the enemy and flaunt my unfaithfulness in your face like I did all of last year."

"Losing your memory wasn't something you could control, so I don't hold you accountable for that. I think the choices you made after it happened just goes to show that you probably want a different kind of life. I still think you owe it to yourself to search the truth behind it and own it."

"What do you mean, _different kind of life?_ One without you and Danny in it?" He stared astonishingly at her, agape she would even suggest something that incredulous after the progress they'd made, the incredible place they'd found themselves again.

"Not necessarily without us, but different from what you knew before. I mean, you landed where you did for a reason, Jason. I hate it, but I don't think it was a coincidence - not with _that_ one, of all people. You could've formed a bond with anyone else - there were any number of nurses and other women in town - but you ended up there. I don't think you've really given it enough thought. Ever since we found out who you were, you've been bombarded by this **_huge_** life that you lived before and enormous decisions you had to make with other people's wellbeing in mind. Well, you've done that now. You know your sons - your'e present and active in their lives. You know about us and what we had, what we meant to each other, and you've seen what we could be again. You've had the chance to revisit your relationships with Michael and Carly and Sonny, with Monica. So now you have the perfect opportunity to make the choice for yourself that is most true to who you are. Don't be pressured by what you think I want, or what you think anybody else wants. What do **_you_** want? Which existence is the one that's most truthful to who you are?"

Reaching his hand out, Jason waited for her to rise from her perch on the stump and take it, then pulled her to his lap to rest her between his knees.

"I did nothing but think about it for _months_ , Sam. I know that I don't want anything to do with Sonny and his business, that's for sure. I grew close to Carly and Michael just like that," he made a snapping move with two fingers then rested on her again, "and I felt an instant attraction to you and my son from the first moment I saw you." Her skeptic look showed she wasn't quite sold and he knew he needed to bare it all. "I fell in love with her, I did…she was an angel of mercy and I was alone in the dark with no idea who I was, or where I came from. I laughed with her and I was able to talk to her, and she was kind to me. I thought it was all I could've ever asked for, but Sam…" He shifted his knees to move her round to fully face him, pulling her in when her legs fell on either side to straddle him loosely, "…It was _nothing_ like this! I get breathless just thinking about you. I open my eyes and my first thought is, where you are, what you and Danny are doing. I hear your voice and it sends tingles through me, you touch me and it's raw electricity bursting me wide open! I'm hearing you tell me about our lives and I know, know without a doubt, it's _always_ been you."

"How can you be so sure?" She was losing breath with each proclamation, hearing him say things she hadn't realized she yearned, but she couldn't dare trust it all without being sure.

"I'm sure! I'm sure as I'm sitting beneath the stars right now with the love of my life alone in the woods in upstate New York." A deep throttling laugh broke from him to shake his head at her. "You're crazy for staying, you know that, right? And that's what makes you so fucking perfect for me, isn't it? You'll stick with me whether I take you to the Taj Mahal or slum it in the backwoods in winter. Whether I live a life of danger, making you a target, or I want to be a simple schmuck living in obscurity with the woman I love. You're happy either way, aren't you?" Marveling eyes travelled her with new appreciation and delighted insight.

"Of course I'm happy with you, whoever you're happy being! That's how it is when you love somebody, Jason." She tugged absently at his jacket sleeve, "I just don't think you've really thought through everything, that's all. I know you've gotten angry at her recently, which is what's probably blinding you to how important you've always found her to be to you. She'd probably be the one you married if I hadn't shown up in Port Charles. She seemed to make you happy, so I just think you should truly explore it before you commit to anything else, that's all."

"Sam, that statement alone proves to me I already made the best choice, even if I didn't love you as completely as I already do! Do you hear what you said? You're telling me to put what I want first, to make a choice that places _my_ happiness above what you want, or what my son needs." He brushed his nose along her cool cheek then found her eyes again, the naked mirrors to her beautiful, selfless soul. "When I expressed to her that I was confused about these feelings arising for you and the memories that were surfacing, do you know what her response always was? Choose **_her_**! Choose **_that_** life. You're willing to let me go if it's what I want, even after I expressly told you what I **_need_** , and you think I'd want to go back to the woman who's only interested in owning me and bragging rights to my name? You obviously haven't been listening so I'm going to try this again…"

Rising to his feet, Jason planted her firmly before him, gripping her hands extremely tight as he bent his neck to meet her head-on. "Sam Morgan, I don't want any life that doesn't have you next to me. You are my equal, my partner, my love, and anyday now, I fully suspect I'll remember that you are my life! I'm dying to experience new things with you! I want to revisit old romps and recovered memories, I want to raise my son with you and learn new things about each other. I'm never looking back - why would I, when what's in front of me is so completely perfect? Of course I could've been a happy Jake Doe, making do with what I had when I had no idea what I had left behind? Not now. Not anymore. I want **_you_**! I need **_you_**! I'm ridiculously crazy-in-love with **_you_**! Is that okay with you?"

She didn't know if it was the delicious cabernet or his words, but something had her insides turning flips. She started nodding to his question then squinted her eyes at his face. "Am I drunk, or is there white stuff on your nose?"

He chuckled and took her by the hand to turn towards the tent. "You _are_ drunk, and it's starting to snow. Let's get some sleep, then we can get to part two of our date."

"Oh shit - this date is in parts?" She laughed in delight as he stopped them in the middle of the tent and removed her hat, his hand softly tucking her hair behind an ear.

"Yep, and if we get as much snow as they predicted, we'll be set in a couple hours. Take your jacket off, I'll get the sleeping bag ready." She was so unbelievable. He not only knew it, he felt it…the magic of her, here in the night with the backdrop of the moonlit starry sky, brought words he'd heard to mind, and watching her with her eyes trusting him, seeing him, loving him, he softly rambled out the lines that defined and described her well…

 _"_ _I walk into a room_

 _just as cool as you please_

 _and to a man_

 _the fellows stand or_

 _fall down on their knees_

 _then they swarm around me_

 _a hive of honey bees_

 _I say, it's the fire in my eyes"_

His fingers brushed the line of an eyebrow and trailed down across her lash to fall softly to her cheek,

 _"_ _and the flash of my teeth"_

arched the corner of her mouth to move across her lower lip and travel down her chin and over her throat,

 _"_ _the swing in my waist_

 _and the joy in my feet"_

brushing the peak of a hardened nipple with just the tip of his forefinger, to continue down its rounded mound and over her belly to clasp the hand hanging at her side,

 _"_ _I'm a woman_

 _phenomenally_

 _Phenomenal Woman_

 _that's me"_

Sam trembled where she stood fully clothed before him but naked to his touch, his tone, his lock on her eyes, her soul. His lips had neared and now hovered just a breath from hers but he made no move to kiss her, and after a lifetime of struggling for composure she was able to once again form words.

"Did you just recite Maya Angelou to me?"

The fire that had been dancing in her beautiful brown eyes all night was vivid now with stormy specks of amber slitting through chestnut to own his soul.

"Mmhm. She was talking about you. Do you even know how phenomenal you are?"

She poked his chest with a mittened finger, her gaze falling from his eyes to linger on his strong, dangerous mouth, reminding her how badly she yearned for the taste of it.

"More flattery. Trying to get laid again, Mr. Morgan?"

He circled her body with both arms and held her tightly to him, still locking her burning gaze with eyes that dared her to deny him, the feel of her panting breath that fell upon his lips stirring him in hidden places.

"I'd live inside you if you'd let me, Sam Morgan. I've never been anyplace like it."

After that, part two of their date died its own death, when the only part they both wanted then took shape in the form of them tearing the layers from each other's uncontrollably aroused bodies and Jason swung her into his arms to sweep her to the sleeping bag, where they spent the next couple hours creating a friction that torridly burned beyond the bag, beyond the tent, and could've melted the falling snow.

Jason's foot smashed something hard when he rolled and pulled her body over him to get her ontop, and Sam's eyes drew momentarily to the sound of something crashing to the floor of the tent.

"What's that?" The breathless question heaved her chest that fought to get air it had been robbed of the past few minutes.

His response was equally labored and panting. "The light for part two - snowboarding on the ridge - but who cares? Come here!"

She was already obeying the command to return to his arms that engulfed her tightly and meet his lips that sought her hotly, moaning when his tongue thrust her mouth and his hand groped its way to her loin. She was burning up in desperate need and could wait no longer, her hand diving down past his belly to circle an engorged, throbbing member, eliciting a groan from his throat when she eased herself onto him, squeezing tightly as she shoved him in.

Lifting himself off the floor, Jason thrust to meet her descent and groaned again, his tongue clasping tightly to hers in a sweet dalliance of their bodies melding from head to groin, joining him with the woman he'd breathe his last breath to give its survival. Gripping tightly to the back of her head, feeling his own swimming when she ground her pelvis against him again and again and again, he gave himself completely over to pleasure unlike any he'd ever known. Her hand braced his chest between them as she lifted her ass and slammed him over and over, gripping him tight as she circled in each descent to drive him mad. He was coming - she'd taken control and was riding him to finish before he was ready, so he had to roll again to send her body beneath his, taking over when he caught her off guard and gripped her knee to bring it up past his hip. Never breaking stride or lips, he stroked her deeply, slowly, fully, until she was moaning, gasping beneath him, her nails sinking into the flesh of his back to indicate he had her at the pinnacle, where he deepened the thrusts to send her toppling blindingly over, crying his name against their locked lips, her nails breaking skin where they clung to him like a lifeline.

Giving her more than he got would always be the name of the game…leaving her wanting more and more, was always the aim. Needing to hear her whimper and cry again, wanting to feel her losing control clinging to him where he wanted her to stay forever, he increased the pace of his strokes and went deep inside her once more.

"Jesus, Jason!" She was coming again, her belly bottom set ablaze by the intense pleasure his strokes evoked and sent her crashing over once more. Her juices washed his member that kept pounding into her, the sound of his catching breath now at her cheek when he slammed again and jerked uncontrollably, burying his face in the crook of her neck to drown the sound of her name that tore from his lips. That was rapid, emblazoning fire that left hem burning and wet - completely sated and giddy.

Sam circled his body with arms and legs and gripped him tightly to her. "Thank you, baby."

Jason couldn't move a limb but tested if his lips worked. "For wha?"

She squeezed him to her again and kissed his ear at her cheek. "For the perfect first date. I can truly say I've never had one like it." They chuckled together and after a few more minutes, were able to move so Jason could grab the towel and dry the sweat from their languid bodies. They made sure to redress before getting back inside the sleeping bag, feeling like heaven falling asleep warm in each other's arms and snug in the comfort of their new unit.

Hours later, Jason's eyes flew open. There was no sudden sound, or movement, nothing that startled him awake…but everything had changed. He _remembered_! Waking up in the hospital surrounded by strangers calling themselves family, erupting in a fit when it had all boiled to a head, denouncing their name, embracing a new life on his own terms, with his own rules, his own say-so. He remembered all the pain, the loves, the enemies, the friends, the bullets, the kidnappings, the schemes, the tears. He remembered everyone and everything…the moment he opened his eyes.

There was a squirm against him that brought his eyes to rest upon her. _Sam_. It was as if seeing her for the first time in years…a sight so sweet his vision blurred in an instant and his breath stopped. _Sam_. Beautiful, patient and loving Sam. Her hand pulled his arm tighter around her where the sleeping bag kept them snuggled and warm, and holding her felt as perfect as he remembered. _He'd forgotten her!_ Once again he'd hurt his head and once again the love of his life had borne the brunt of his idiocy, been left to carry their lives by herself, while he did what he wanted. _And once again she came through._

Pulling her tightly into him where her back curved perfectly to his torso, he inhaled the scent that had seen him through some of his darkest days. He knew he'd squeezed too tight when she stretched into a full line and groaned awake, turning her body to face him when he eased a little on the vice hold he had on her. Nestling her head into the small pillow, she smiled with briefly opening eyes that closed back against the burgeoning daylight.

"Mornin."

The sweet sound of her voice blurred his vision again, it's soft caress falling on ears that wanted more.

"Good morning." He watched her eyes flit open to the strangled sound that was all he could manage.

"What's wrong?" The pain in his voice alarmed her, and as Sam studied the strange look he had about him, she realized what had woken her from a deep sleep. It wasn't the cold that gave her pause - the nestled warmth of his arms had kept it at bay all night. Now that she could see the haunting in his eyes, the anguish upon his face, it woke an alarm inside her. "Jason, what's the matter?"

"I love you!" His fingers traced the contours of her face to travel from brow across cheek to chin, resting there to brush it's smooth, soft surface lovingly. "I love you so much."

The alarm in Sam exploded, wrenching her up on an elbow as she prodded him some more. "What's wrong?" His words of love were sweet but wrought with something unknown and she was beginning to panic. Something had changed.

"Nothing's wrong." Jason raised himself to level with her, bringing his fingers back to her face again. "For the first time in a really, really long time, everything is perfect."

Her face shifted against his fingers in a slight caress but her eyes held his locked. "So why do you look like you've never seen me before? Why are your eyes teary?" And then she knew. It was as though asking the questions out loud had suddenly unveiled the answer to her pondering eyes and she could tell clear as the day was shaping up. " _Jason?_ " Her own whisper sounded strangled and wet and she realized her own tears had sprung out of nowhere.

He nodded and laughed out loud when his voice cracked through the strength of what he felt. He remembered her. Every single detail, from the moment she walked into his life to the glorious one playing out before him now - he remembered her unwavering and staggering love.

"I'm so sorry, Sam! I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?" Her hand clasped the back of his head and she rested her forehead to his and shook in wonder. "What are you sorry for? Jason - you remember?"

She could feel the nod against her where their foreheads still joined and when the confirmation took shape, the sob broke freely, wrenching her body, alerting Sam for the first time how enormous forgetting them had really been for her. She'd placed it in its proper box, labeled it to be visited at a later date and had found a peace with whom he'd become - but apparently that date was here. He remembered…and it was everything!

"I'm sorry, Sam. If I live a thousand lifetimes I'll never understand how I could ever forget you, forget Danny. I can never understand how I could see you and not know you instantly, despite it all. I'm so sorry."

"Stop, Jason - stop apologizing. You have no control over that - nobody does. I won't let you apologize for something you didn't do."

His head shook in wonder as he studied her closely, his fingers once again tracing her face of their own accorded wonder. "There it is, right there. The way you defend me, the powerful way you love me unconditionally and with no regrets…there's that unwavering loyalty I should always be able to recognize."

"What happened? You just opened your eyes and you remember it all?"

He nodded as he thought about it too. "I don't know, maybe it was everything you told me last night, maybe it was just on the cusp waiting to release, but whatever it was, I opened my eyes and it was all back. Every single, solitary detail from the moment I opened my eyes after my accident all those years ago. It all just flooded back!"

She was sitting up fully now after unzipping the sleeping bag on her side, the excitement too much to keep her still anymore. She was awaking from what she'd thought was a huge night, only to find them in the midst of what was a truly, remarkably **_HUGE_** morning!


	38. Chapter 38

**_A/N: Sorry folks - something's going on on this site - I didn't even notice it had labeled this story "complete" - it's definitely not. Thank you Guest for pointing it out. Thank you all for still reading and enjoying this story - please, do read on and feel free to drop a comment when you can._**

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"Why did you lie?"

Nikolas was passing the study on his way from the stables, the brisk morning ride having worked its usual magic to open his senses and invigorate his blood, when he heard what was definitely shaping up to be a heated argument between his brother and his friend. Every day this week, like clockwork! Those two behaved worse than the children in the house, constantly bickering and snapping at each other. Changing course to enter the study instead, he paused with the gloves he'd just removed and stuck them inside his belt, catching sight of Lucky looming over Elizabeth, who was seated at the desk on her laptop. The paper he held was being shaken up and down in front of her and the anger in his voice was clearly displayed in the hard lines of his face.

"Answer me, dammit! How could you have lied about _this?_ "

Elizabeth was startled when Lucky stormed into the room in attack mode, causing her to almost jump from her seat when his voice boomed out at her.

"What the hell's the matter with you? Why are you yelling at me?"

"Yes, brother - I'd like the answer to that question as well. Can we at least pretend we know how to use our indoor voices before breakfast?"

Lucky was fuming and he couldn't care less about propriety or manners in that moment, not after what he'd just learned from opening the previous day's mail. Slamming the paper down in front of her, he took a step back when the urge to physically shake her started taking strong hold.

"I always knew you could be vindictive and selfish…you want what you want and to hell with anybody in your way, but this? How could you do this?"

Nikolas was growing really concerned. His brother was angrier than he'd seen him in years and he wasn't making any sense, but the look on his face was so stricken it worried him greatly. When Elizabeth took the paper from the desk and turned ashen before his eyes, he knew something was very wrong.

"What is it?" When neither answered him, he pointed to the paper she dropped to the desk like it burned her at the touch. "What is that, Elizabeth…what does it say?"

Lucky took the steps back to stand by his brother, gesturing towards his ex with disgust lining his face. "It says, brother, that Jake is **_not_** Jason's son…" he took the angry steps back in Elizabeth's direction, "…isn't that right, Elizabeth? It says that you are a goddamn filthy liar, aren't you?"

 ** _"WHAT?"_** Nikolas expressed the shock before it had registered fully, caught off-guard by the one thing he hadn't expected their fight to be about.

"Oh, yeah. _Jake_ ** _isn't_** _Jason's_ \- why don't you tell him, Elizabeth?"

The scorn dripping from his icy voice slapped her hard across the gut and she grabbed it as though it were physical, the loss of breath it left feeling very real. Lucky had it in black and white before her - the truth she had thought to take to her grave, the truth nobody would ever discover because of fortune's gift of comparable physical features that would forever prevent any doubt from surfacing. Yet, here in front of her, in the middle of the biggest fight being waged against her and everything she's wanted, laid the truth for all to know. Her voice would not sound the first time she tried, so she tried again, startled by the cracked quality that eventually emerged.

"How…where did you get this? I-I mean, what is this? What…" Her voice trailed and she pushed the chair back but remained seated when her legs would not obey to stand and face her accuser.

Lucky grabbed the paper from the desk and shook it angrily before her face. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare pretend you don't know what this is! How could you do this?" He slammed it back to the desk again. "Why? I demand to know why you did this?"

Shock still running through him, Nikolas stepped slowly to the desk and took the paper in hand, reading for himself and feeling his mouth fall open at the words that had set Lucky in a maddening tirade. He looked to his friend, seeing how shocked and speechless she'd been rendered and he knew he needed to defend her.

"She didn't know, Lucky. Surely you can see she had no idea?" He pointed towards Elizabeth as he pled with his brother to calm down. "This is obviously as much a shock to Elizabeth as it is to you…to all of us."

Lucky turned his back to them and shook his head at the ceiling before facing his brother again. "She's always had you so completely fooled it's laughable." He pointed at the woman who was still staring blankly at the page lying on the desk, "That Bambi look of hers is nothing but a ruse…I spent years falling for it and it burned me every single time! You **_really_** believe she doesn't know? She was the only one who saw the results of the first test…the one she used to lie to me and tell me Jake was mine…to tell Jason he wasn't the father…apparently _that_ was the truth! But the **_truth_** didn't suit her purpose for tearing Jason away from Sam - _noooo_ \- the mobster was yearning to be a father and she was the sweet, innocent nurse with the big doe eyes and ' ** _help me'_** stare that made every man want to rescue her. She could stick it to Sam for having Jason, and to me, for screwing Maxie! **_She knew!"_**

"Alright, calm down, calm down!" Nikolas soothed his brother's shoulder and looked over at Elizabeth who sat up straight and pursed her lips, her hand rubbing against her stomach like she was going to be sick. She looked white enough to barf right there in their presence. Rushing to the cabinet, he poured a drink of seltzer and hurried back to her. "Here - drink this!"

Elizabeth looked up into the eyes of the one friend she had left, reaching her hand to take the grateful drink and sighing when his strong hand covered her shaky one to help the glass to her lips. She gulped the liquid he held in place, charging her mind for the answers that would get her out of this situation. She never expected this day to come, which was why she could think of nothing that would work. Clearing her throat as Nikolas removed the glass, she gave it her best shot.

"Lucky, what is this - what are you saying?"

"You know damn well what it is! You've been lying to us all these years, robbing me of my rightful relationship with my son, pawning him off to another man trying to use him to get what you want - how sick is that?"

She pointed feebly to the offending paper, "I don't know where you got that nonsense but it isn't real. You know the truth…Jacob is Jason's…I don't know how many times you must hear that to believe it."

Nikolas was curious. "Just where did you get that, Lucky?"

Lucky answered his brother, his gaze boring through his ex' face waiting for her reaction to his next words, "From the hospital - where else? I was at the family house the other day, checking up on the work being done, and I got a little nostalgic going through the rooms, remembering when it was filled with laughter and happy people. Came across a box of old photos and there was one in particular that knocked me on my ass!" He reached inside his back pocket and produced the photo, handing it to his brother, his gaze still wary on her increasingly stricken face.

Nikolas felt his brow crease at the sight of the smiling little blond boy in his hand. "There was a photograph of Jake in the box, so?"

"Look at it again, Nikolas. Notice how old the paper is? Look at how baggy those jeans are…not exactly the kind they wear now, are they?"

"Oh!"

Nodding, Lucky ripped the photo from his brother's hands and dropped it in Elizabeth's lap. "That's right… ** _oh!_** Take a look, Elizabeth - is that Jake?"

Gingerly lifting the photo for a better view, Elizabeth's breath stopped again when she saw what they did. The boy in the photo was a dead ringer for her middle son, only…

"How funny is it that Jake looks like my twin at that age, huh?"

Nikolas knew now why he was so angry. "So when you saw that photo of a younger you who looked just like Jake, you did what, had a paternity test done?"

" _Precisely!_ See, I knew when she first told me about the baby, I knew she was lying about **_something_** but I never thought it was that. She told me I had a baby coming and that gave me the strength to fight the demons that were keeping me hooked on those damn pills back then. I believed her, but I knew there was something else. Then later, when she recanted and said Jake was Jason's I didn't want to believe her but I did - I mean, why would she lie about something that made her look like a complete whore? But it was all a string of lies, wasn't it, Elizabeth? Each one coined to suite your immediate need at the time? Telling me he's mine sobers me up so you don't look like the married slut who screwed around on her husband and left him in his time of need to chase after some other girl's guy. Telling Jason he's the father kept him from marrying Sam and brought him back to the fold, where he stayed in worship because you were giving him something nobody else did…but he was too dangerous…you're not exactly a gangster chick now, are you? But you'd never give up your hold on him when you could have him pining after a family with you, even if he moved on, you'd always have that hold on him, and why not - I was willing to claim Jake and give you the family portrait you needed to show the town. Didn't matter if I never knew he was really mine when you had me on the hook just as much as Jason, both of us forever duking it out to be Jake's dad…Elizabeth gets her cake and she eats it too! **_Brava_**!"

"Elizabeth?" Nikolas was stunned. He didn't believe it at first but the more Lucky ranted the more he did - everything he said playing out before him with perfectly connecting dots - her ashen silence further confirming every syllable. "Elizabeth!"

"I didn't do anything, Nikolas. If a mistake was made it was on the part of the lab - the results I read said Jake was Jason's…I don't know where Lucky got this paper from."

"I had him tested again, Elizabeth - surely that's obvious? When I saw the startling resemblance I knew in my gut he was my son and not only on paper - he was my flesh and blood - so I swabbed him and took it to GH because I just had to know. Imagine my shock when they confirmed not only was he mine but that these new results matched the ones on file…you know…the **_first_** ones that only **_you_** saw?"

It was over. Nothing she said now would make a bit of difference because they'd never believe her now. After all these years, they had her completely cornered. The tears that welled her eyes and streamed her face were for once not manufactured and timed just right. She leaped animatedly from the chair and threw her arms in wide angry gestures.

" ** _Fine! Alright - YES! Yes, I did it! I lied!"_** The sobs rocked her upper body and she spluttered on, "I lied, okay - I lied!" Running for Nikolas, she leapt inside the one set of arms she knew would never be closed to her, sinking into them when they embraced and held her to him where she rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed harder.

Lucky seethed at the picture before him, seeing exactly what she was doing and unable to stop her without looking like a complete eel. Gritting angry teeth, he bit back the scalding retort and crushed the paper he'd grabbed from the desk. She would use his brother just like she used him, just like she used Jason, Ric and countless others, and she would never feel bad about it or ever have to answer for it. Turning his back to them, he gritted again.

"Nikolas, man…I really wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Do what - comfort a friend when she's distraught? Come on, Lucky, this is Elizabeth…she wasn't trying to be malicious, we know that."

Spinning angrily, Lucky gaped at his brother, "We do? Don't you see what she's doing? She got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and instead of owning it and taking her punishment like a big girl, she's doing what she always does - run into the arms of a knight." He held the clasped paper in their direction, "She did this! She used people and she doesn't care that she was deliberate and hurtful, and you're giving her a free pass for it."

"I'm doing no such thing. She didn't mean to hurt anybody Lucky, you know she has the heart of an angel. Things got away from her and she got to a point where she couldn't take it back…we've all been there…we get in over our heads and then things get blown out of proportion. Where would we be if somebody hadn't forgiven us?"

"Forgive? People who seek forgiveness usually own their bad behavior and try earnestly to make amends! She's been using Jake again and again to go after people and to keep a man tied to her. That's not someone who's sorry and seeking forgiveness. As usual, you're completely blinded by her little innocent act and look - you've already picked up the gauntlet to fight for her honor…and she hasn't even come clean to the other injured parties yet." Lucky shook his head at his duped brother and pointed angrily at is ex, "I'll tell you one thing though…this farce doesn't touch my son in anyway, anymore! Our house will be completed in a few days and he's coming home with me where he belongs. You don't so much as look in his direction without my permission from now on…you will _never_ use him again!"

"Lucky, come on…"

"I'm serious, Nikolas - keep her here all you want but you keep her away from my son!" He moved to the door, angrily ignoring his brother's call and her dramatic tears, anxious to breathe air not tainted by the deceitful woman's presence.

Nikolas ran his hands smoothly over her back, cooing her to calm and ease the tears. "Don't cry, Elizabeth. He's just angry right now…he'll be more rational when he calms down."

Elizabeth sniffled and eased herself from the arms she would always be able to count on, wiping the tears from her face with the back of one hand. "I'm sorry, Nikolas, really I am. I didn't want to hurt anybody, I just wanted Jason. I told Lucky the truth when it counted…when he needed to sober up, I gave him the truth to hold onto - that should count for something, shouldn't it?" She sniffled again and implored him with panda eyes.

"I know you weren't trying to hurt them but you have to see why Lucky's so angry, don't you?"

"I know he has the right to be angry, but to keep me away from my son? How is that fair?"

Nikolas guided her to take a seat on the sofa and sit next to her. "He'll calm down and see how that would not benefit Jake, but you need to give him room to work through his justified anger. You didn't mean to hurt him but you did, so give him some space and do as he says for right now."

She brought her face to her hands and sobbed into them. "Jason - oh my god, Jason is going to be so mad! Oh, my god!"

Nikolas rubbed her shoulder gently. "You can't manage how they react to the news, but I'll be there when you tell him if you want." When she lurched into his arms again he closed them tightly around her. "It's going to be okay. I've got you." He soothed her gently, thinking about how angry the mobster was going to get, maybe more than Lucky even…then he remembered the one person his dear friend should probably fear the most when she found out. His cousin was going to skewer her alive!

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"Sam, it's only seven…we can still hit the slope before we go." He was watching her pull the jeans on in a hurry suddenly, but he wasn't quite ready to relinquish their blissful solitude.

"Are you kidding? We have to go, Jason…" she pulled the tee over her head and hurriedly pushed her arms through, "…you have to see Danny! Get up - get dressed!"

Jason smiled from where he still lolled in the sleeping bag, remembering the night Kelly Lee stopped by the penthouse to tell them the paternity test showed he was Danny's father. He'd never felt a thrill that distinct and surreal his whole life, and that night spent holding Sam as she slept peacefully for the first time since their botched honeymoon, he'd stroked his son inside her until he dozed off himself. That was the first time they'd truly felt like a family since Baby Lila.

"What?"

He looked up at Sam eyeing him dubiously. "What?

"You have this goofy look on your face - what are you thinking about?"

Jason rose from the bag and reached for his jeans on the floor. "I'm thinking you're absolutely right - I need to see my son. I need to see my sons." He paused in the middle of reaching for his jacket, then straightened up to look at Sam. "There was a time I never thought I'd ever be a father, Sam…Michael was as close as I expected to get. Then Jake arrived and despite all the chaos my stupid actions had created surrounding him, it floored me that a piece of me had entered this world. Even when I made the gut-wrenching choice to let another man do my job so I could keep him safe, I was still floored because he would always be mine. When I thought he'd died, it was Baby Lila's pain all over again…and then we made Danny. He's our miracle, Sam. People kept him from us and they kept us from reveling in every second of his miraculous conception, I missed his birth, they tried to convince us he'd died too…but our baby survived them all. He survived cancer without me there to play the role I'm supposed to in his life! Both of my sons miraculously survived everything that's been thrown at them by people who should've known better…and they're waiting for me. You're right, baby - let's go home."

Grinning wide, Sam grabbed her scarf and looped her neck as she followed him from the tent. "Jason, wait - what about all this stuff?"

He took her hand and pulled her towards the trees. "Leave it! We're coming back to snowboard that ravine. Unfinished date, remember?"

Slapping his sleeve as he pulled her behind him, Sam hastened to keep up with his long strides. The excitement to make it back to town was palpitating between them, perfectly capping their wonderful night beneath the stars.

"Dating's a lot more fun than being married - I may stay single forever, now."

He squeezed her into his side as they hurried past the hot spring and made their way to the bike. "As long as you do it all with me, Mrs. Morgan - married or single - I'll take it!"

"Damn. There goes my plan to see if Lucky wanted to join the list." She threw her head back and chortled out loud when he sent her a deadly look. "Too soon?"

"That's not remotely funny and if he keeps sniffing around you, watch me send him to pay Franco a visit!"

They were using their boots to sweep the freshly fallen snow from around the bike.

"Stop it - that's not funny."

He started the engine and let it idle while they got on. "What's funny is you think I'm joking."


	39. Chapter 39

_**A/N: I love that you're still enjoying the story. Thank you for your amazing words.**_

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Alexis crossed her arms and stared at her eldest daughter in astonishment as she fell back against the kitchen counter for support.

"He remembers? Everything?"

Sam could feel the smile that had planted itself on her face that morning and hadn't wavered, brighten another watt.

"Isn't it wonderful? One minute he's asleep in the middle of the woods, still relatively clueless, the next he's wide awake and remembers _everything_ about his life. No more darkness, no more wondering what important memory or choice was eluding him, no more uncertainty. Mom, he remembers himself, his beliefs, his family, his passions…everything that makes him Jason!"

Alexis moved to join her sitting at the kitchen table, covering her hands where they spread out on the surface.

"Wow. I don't have to ask how it makes you feel that he finally remembers you and Danny - I can see it's like a boulder off your shoulders. I'm very happy for you, for all of you."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm happy for Jason most of all - he's been so lost for so long and now he doesn't have to be…and I'm sooo happy Danny gets to know the Jason I remember - not that who he is now wouldn't have been enough, but our son deserves to know the father who loved him from the moment he was only an idea. When Jake "died" it broke him in two. He was so crushed I thought I'd never see him smile again…and now, he gets to truly appreciate the _full_ magnitude of him coming back. I mean, he was amazed when it happened but as Jake Doe, he didn't remember living the grief, so there was no way for him to have the true appreciation of what that really meant…now he will." She got up from the chair and paced nervously. "I'm so happy I could burst wide open with joy right now."

Alexis half-smiled and leaned back in her chair. "I can see that. So does that mean you pick up right where you left off?"

Sam looked at her mother, stopping mid stride when the question played out in her head. "I don't even know what it means exactly…but that's okay…we'll figure it out. It's just so enormous having him remember…I'd honestly made peace with who he is now, who he's become, but looking into eyes that _remember_ me, seeing and hearing _my_ Jason - it's so surprisingly exhilarating!"

"Why do you think that is?"

Her shoulders shrugged and she stopped at the window to think about it. "I don't know - maybe just because he knows me so well. I've never had to wonder what he's really feeling or thinking either - I knew Jason."

"But you still have doubts about the new him?"

Sam looked back at her thoughtfully, weighing the question before returning to the table to reclaim the vacated chair. "Mom, I believe him when he says he loves me, I do. But he spent the last year in a different life, loving someone else. That doesn't just go away, does it? I mean, I'm right to make it give me pause, aren't I?"

Alexis nodded and drummed her fingers where they rested on the table. "I think you're smart to, yes. Jason's loved you for a really long time, but he had something with that nurse. I don't blame you for wanting to be cautious. What does he say about it?"

"That it's definitely over and it wasn't anything to rival what we had, or have now."

"But you don't believe?"

"I'm…wary."

"Good. Hold onto that! It can't hurt to be sure."

"Sure about what?" Molly entered the kitchen and reached for the green apple sitting at the top of the fruit bowl the women had pushed aside during their talk, chomping on a bite while looking between the two, who had grown silent at her entrance. She gestured questioningly when neither volunteered to clue her in.

Alexis looked at Sam then her youngest. "Jason remembers."

"Remembers what?"

When the women looked at each other again, Molly waited for a juicy tidbit.

"Everything. He's no longer going around with nothing - he remembers it all."

The squeal startled Alexis and Sam, who both jumped at the pitch as Molly dropped the apple to the table and rushed to grip her big sister in the tightest hug.

"Oh my gosh, Sam that's wonderful! Jason remembers? Oh wow!"

Sam could wiggle only one arm free to return the hug, smiling brightly. "It is pretty wonderful, thank you, Molly."

"You must be so excited - does this mean you pick up where you left off that dreadful night? You're gonna get married again, right?"

"Slow down, Sis. We're still getting to know each other again - we're not rushing anything."

Molly looked puzzled, her palms spreading to show her confusion. "What's to know? You and Jason are soulmates, always have been. Now that he remembers that, what are you waiting for?"

"Jason and I aren't romance novel heroines, Molls - we still have things to work out. Everything's going good - we're fine."

"You saw what happened, Sam…one minute you were living your bliss and the next he was just **_gone!_** You can't waste anymore time. Love is too precious and fragile. You have it…please don't waste it."

Alexis stood to grip her daughter's shoulder and pull her in to rest her head against hers. "Forever my little romantic. Leave your sister alone, she just received this wonderful gift - give her time to savor it before you bombard her with soliloquy and tales of tragic love. Go on…" she nudged her gently towards the door, "Go on!"

Molly retrieved her apple then followed the direction, looking back at her sister, "Fine. But Sam, please listen to me. Don't waste the time you have left…it's way too short!" She left when her mother shooed her with both hands, taking another bite and squirming at her as she did.

"And wash your fruit, young lady!" Alexis shook her head when her reprimand went unheeded.

Sam grew quiet as she contemplated her sister's wise words. Was she right? Their lives had been one nightmare after another following their perfect, perfect wedding, resulting in them hardly spending any of their married life together before he got shot. Then the very day they'd worked everything out and recommitted to trying again, he went off to work like he'd done countless times before and just didn't return home, unlike he normally always had. Years of anguish and pain filled with regrets had followed that awful night…now here they had a chance to make it count, to do it right, make every _second_ matter…so was she wasting precious time second-guessing everything after they'd miraculously made it back from almost nothing? She had a whole lot to think about!

Walking over to the window again, Sam looked out at Jason and Danny in the backyard making use of the fresh snow. Their snowball fight was over and they were seated side by side on the swings, rocking back and forth, obviously deep in conversation while they kicked idly at the snow below their feet.

"I know." Alexis wrapped her arm around her daughter and joined her staring at the duo deep in private conversation. "That's a sight you once thought you'd never see."

Sam rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Mom?"

"Yes, it is my baby."

Father and son rose to their feet at the same time and the women watched as Danny took two quick steps to land inside his father's arms and Jason swung him up to hold him tightly and clasp his head to his shoulder. The look upon his face as he held his son close was one Sam would never forget and would forever cherish. Danny had his father back…the one who could remember just how long he'd wanted him…she didn't want either of them missing out on a minute more of that miracle!

Danny drew back to look at his father's head, tiny mittened hands resting gently at each temple. "Does this mean your head's all better now, Daddy?"

"The best it's ever been - you know why?" When he shook his little head Jason told him, "Because now, I remember you. I wasn't here for the first time you walked or heard the first word you said and I'm so sorry for that, Buddy. But I sure do remember the _very first_ picture you took. I was never happier to meet anybody in my whole life, than I was to meet you that day."

"Which picture?"

"I still have it - I'll show it to you when we get home. You were fast asleep inside Mommy's tummy - the most beautiful, tiniest thing I ever saw. I can remember that now and I never want to forget it again."

"You could see me inside Mommy's tummy? How?"

"The doctor has this really cool machine, she just placed it on your Mommy and we could see you so clearly." Jason knocked his forehead to Danny's hat then pulled back so he could see his little face. "You were absolutely perfect…just like you are now!"

"Let's go, Daddy - I wanna see."

The kitchen door opened and Danny led his father in, excitedly greeting his mother and grandma.

"Mommy, Daddy remembers everything from before…he even remembers the fist time he saw me in your tummy. Isn't that cool?"

Sam knelt before her son and removed the hat and gloves before reaching for the zipper on his jacket. "That's very cool." She nudged his nose with hers then pretended to shiver, "Oooh, your nose is freezing - let's get you some hot chocolate before it falls off your face."

Danny laughed and nodded, wriggling out of the coat she was pulling off him. "Can Daddy have hot chocolate too?"

Alexis reached for Danny's hand and began leading him towards the kitchen door, "He sure can, but first, why don't you go warm up by the fire next to Aunt Molly?" She watched him go through the door and join Molly where she was spread out in front of the fireplace with her latest book. "I'll bring your hot chocolate in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma!"

She turned back to face the two in the kitchen who were eyeing each other like there was no-one else in the world, evoking a blush to her cheeks when she felt like she was intruding on a most intimate moment.

"I hate to dampen your spirits with this, I really do - especially now, after…but I feel I must tell you before you get blindsided." She gestured for them to sit, then joined them after they hesitantly did.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Clearing her throat, Alexis decided the best thing to do was dive right in. "Usually I'd be bound by client privilege and unable to divulge what I'm about to, but Lucky thought the news might be gentler coming from me…"

"This is about Jason's custody case?" Sam looked at Jason, growing anxious, given her mother's unease, and wasn't surprised to see his quiet demeanor but knew from experience he was anything but calm underneath. "What happened?

"There's been a…development!" She hesitated again, uncertain exactly how to continue. There was going to be no easy way to deliver the blow.

"Mom, spit it out, please…" Sam knew from her own building anxiety, Jason would be edgy too. "It's obviously bad so just - say it!"

"Okay." Alexis watched both hands spread the table, working out imaginary wrinkles on a nonexistent tablecloth as she uttered the words. "Apparently, Lucky had some doubts about Jake's paternity…"

"What? Why now again?"

Alexis shook her head, "Something about an old photo that looked just like Jake or something, but anyway, he wanted another test done."

"Nobody bothered to tell Jason?"

"He didn't bother to tell anybody."

"Okay, so he confirmed that Jake's my son - what of it?" Jason was still trying to figure out where exactly she was going.

Sam too was sensing more to come. "Mom, what is it?"

Alexis sighed, deciding to rip the bandaid off and get it over with. "The new test says Lucky is Jake's father, not Jason!"

Deafening silence was all that echoed the inherent shock before Jason's chair pushed back loudly and he jumped to his feet to stride over to the window then spin back furiously.

"What's that fool trying to pull? He thinks I'll let him use some fake test to take my son from me?"

"Hmm, it's - it's the real deal."

"Mom, how can you say that? Everybody knows Jake is Jason's - it was proven years ago. Anybody only has to look at them to see they're father and son!"

"There was an early resemblance but the more Jake grows, he looks less and less like Jason and more like…" She trailed off but knew they heard what she didn't say.

"This is ridiculous. Looks aside, Jake was tested as a baby - he has my DNA!"

"That test was fake!"

"Oh, how convenient! Alexis, I know you've always hated me but you can't let him do this! It's unethical, even for you!"

 _"_ _JASON!"_

"No, Sam - they obviously cooked this up together - he's her client! She's trying to help him take my son!"

"My mother wouldn't do that!"

"Yea, you also thought your big pal Lucky wouldn't try to keep my son away from me. You were wrong there too, weren't you?"

"Okay, fine - I was wrong about Lucky, but my mother isn't working some scheme with him. I know you're angry and you've been thrown for a loop but don't take it out on her. _Something_ is obviously going on here and we'll find out what - just calm down."

"Calm down? Your boyfriend is trying to take my son and you want me to be calm? Pfftt!" Next second he stormed out the back door, leaving both women staring after him.

 _"_ _O-boy!"_ Alexis rose from the table and got the coffeepot to refill their cups. "This is not going to end well, is it?"

"Not one bit." Sam sat back in the chair and threw her head back in exasperation. "Jesus, Mom - what happened? We were gone for one night - _one night!"_

"There's more, actually." She pushed Sam's cup toward her, "Here - take a swig - you're gonna need it. Matter of fact, let me get you something stronger - you're gonna need that more!" She moved to get up but Sam stopped her.

"Stop, Mom - just say it. What else?"

Resting back down, Alexis ground the words out, "Elizabeth knew the whole time. It was her doing."

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By the time he got to Spoon Island, Jason had willed himself to calm down. Jake would be home so the last thing he wanted to do was scare him by storming the place like he felt like doing. Mustering the quiet reserve he'd practiced to get him through situations with the highest stakes, he used the heavy knocker to sound the door and waited. He was going to stay calm.

Minutes later, he was shown to the library where Elizabeth was cozied up to the fire, after being told by the Butler that Misters Cassadine and Spencer were out for the rest of the day. Jason's eyes fell on her frame appearing frail and beaten, her gaze fixated on the dancing flames in the fireplace with a book long forgotten on her lap. She looked up when he entered, uncurling her legs to stand from the couch in surprise.

"Jason! You're here!"

"Where else would I be - after receiving your news? This is the new game you and Lucky are playing to keep my son from me?"

Her legs gave way instantly and she fell unceremoniously back to the couch behind her, a sudden loss of oxygen making her lightheaded. She'd hoped this day would never come, had worked everything in her power to prevent it, then Lucky had to go get curious and ruin it all.

"Jason, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Any of what, Elizabeth? It's not true - and it's not going to work!"

"I really wanted him to be yours. I prayed for it…when we made love that night, everything was so perfect, we were finally going to be together, and when I got pregnant even though we used protection I was sure it was a sign we were destined. I never doubted in my heart that he was yours - I was pregnant with _your_ child - long before I took the test, I just knew in my soul he was yours!"

"I didn't come here to dredge up old mistakes and fan fantasies - that bastard pushed too far this time and he's going to regret it. Where the hell is he?"

"He's not here." He wasn't listening to a word she said. But he wasn't angry at her either - why wasn't he pissed at her?

"I know that much - where did he go?"

"He went to meet with his contractor at the old Spencer house." When he spun on his heel her hand flew out quickly to suspend midair, "Jason, wait!"

When he turned to face the woman who he'd forever be dealing with because the younger him had been so foolish and trusting, he knew he should demand answers, but she wasn't the one leading the latest ridiculous charge. He'd go straight to the source instead.

"What is it, Elizabeth - I have to go."

"Please - can't you talk to me for a minute?"

"It's not a…"

"Not a good time - I know. That's all you say to me anymore, you know that? We used to be able to talk about anything and no-one treated me as kind and gentle as you did. Please, Jason - can't we get that back? Please?"

He eyed the frail, scared look about her and he remembered a time when he'd seek her out to talk like she said. They were friends. He loved her as one and would do almost anything to make her life better. ..had hated seeing her unhappy and struggling - such a good person with a good heart deserved more, and he remembered a time when he'd happily volunteered to give it. Recent events proved he'd still felt that way, given they'd almost ended up living a life together. Almost.

"I really need to find Lucky and clear this mess up - the sooner the better. I can't let him go around with this fake test causing trouble - what if Jake gets wind of it? Do you know how much more confused this would get for him?"

"Jake is fine, he's resting in his room. His fever's gone and the cough isn't dry anymore - he'll be on the mend in no time."

"I'm glad to hear that - let's keep it that way." He walked back to the chair to stand over her, not taking the time to get comfortable because he wasn't about to stay. "Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you keep him from broadcasting this ridiculous story?"

"I didn't know, Jason. He tested Jake without my knowledge or consent!"

"Tested him? He actually really tested him - not just fudge some papers? Why would he leave a trail that is going to be so easy to follow and disprove? All I have to do is get Spinelli to get his hands on the real results and this ends now! Or did he pay someone to change the database input too? Just how deep did he take this, Elizabeth?"

She was sweating. Obviously whoever told him about the test didn't tell him her part in the whole thing - maybe they had no idea. She could stall. She could go a little longer before his entire outlook and impression of her changed forever.

"I don't know. He just came in throwing around accusations and lab results - I don't know what he really did." She wiped wet, nervous palms on the leg of her pants, looking down from the eyes scrutinizing her.

"You've always been so passive and placating with him. Always felt like it was your job to stroke his ego and make him feel like a man, even when he failed you. He cheated on your marriage yet you felt responsible for his sobriety, even though he was a grown man who knew right from wrong and knew how much that would hurt you. He failed you as a husband and a father - you were working so hard to keep your family together and what was he doing? Gulping pills and sleeping with Maxie to get them."

Her head jerked his way and something in the way he said the words, something in the way he was looking at her now, seeing her, like he was…

"Jason - are you remembering this? You're remembering us?" The words choked from her throat and watered her eyes when she could see their truth.

"Yes. I remembered this morning. I remember everything about my life."

"Including me? The years and years we loved each other, how close we were? The night we made Jake? You remember how much you loved me and wanted to give us a life together?"

"I wanted so much to give my son a happy, stable, life and a mother and father who cared about each other. The love for him blinded me to a lot, and I made mistakes I'll never be able to take back or undo, hurt people who didn't deserve it, because of how much I love my son."

"And me. You wanted me to be a part of it all - you chose me, from the moment you knew. It didn't matter who you were with - you chose **_me_** _!"_

"I chose **_Jake!_** I will always choose my sons' welfare, Elizabeth - which is why I will stop Lucky before this goes any further. You should've stopped this the moment you found out about it - why didn't you?"

"I can't stop Lucky - I never could! But you can, Jason. Especially now that you remember what we mean to you, you can stop him from going any further with this!"

"That's exactly what I'm about to do."

"Then what?" She looked up at him hopefully, clinging to the last of the tiniest bit that still lingered. "Now that you remember us, know that we were never the enemies you seem to believe we are, what will you do?" She couldn't keep the anticipation from her breath, holding it in dire need of his admitting to what she needed him to know. Surely _her_ Jason was back.

He sat down next to her, momentarily softened by the hopeful pleading of her eyes, remembering a time when the gentle side of her was the only side he saw. Jason sighed and allowed that feeling to linger a moment.

"I will always be your friend - we have a history that affords you that - and I will never turn my back on you if I can be of help - as a friend! But I will never let it hurt Sam again."

"What about how it hurts **_me_** , Jason? **_I_** have to watch you with her, knowing it should be **_me_**. How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Look, you and I could've probably been something once, before Courtney, but not since. Our lives were completely different and even though it was nice to escape to yours for a few hours at a time, I could never walk away from mine. It wouldn't have lasted, Elizabeth…I'd have grown restless and resentful and it wouldn't have ended well. And the truth is, once Sam came along, no matter what you and I were to each other before, it wouldn't have lasted. She's the other half of my soul - I'll find her anywhere!"

"That is such bull! You didn't **_find her_** after your accident, Jason you found **_me!"_**

"No, Elizabeth - _you found me!_ Do you know how many times I sought Sam out when I had no idea who she was? Or how many dreams - what I thought were dreams but were actually memories - I had of her while I was with you? I didn't have a single memory of you and I when we lived together…but I'd go to bed next to you and dream about Sam and Danny!" When she looked even more pained at his words, he sighed in frustration, "I'm not trying to hurt you, but I need you to hear me and understand what I'm saying. You are no more my destiny than I am yours."

"That's not true! I will never believe that!"

"Then you're setting yourself up to be hurt. I don't want to be the one to hurt you, but if the choice is between you and Sam…I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"Jason, I love you! If you leave me, who will I have left - I have no one! You don't mean this - I've been waiting for you to realize that you made a mistake, that you don't really mean to hurt me like this. _I love you!"_

Growing increasingly uncomfortable, Jason rose to his feet and looked down upon her, the pity he felt in that moment outweighing anything he once thought was love for her. "I can never return those feelings - you're choosing not to listen to what I'm saying so I don't know how to get through to you. I'm going to leave - my family is waiting for me and I owe my wife an apology."

"Don't call her that - please don't call her that! You married her because you thought your life was too dangerous for me and **_she_** didn't have enough sense to know better - it wasn't her you really wanted! She's not your wife - she's not your true heart!"

"Nothing could be further from the truth and the sooner you stop telling yourself those lies the better off you'll be. Goodbye, Elizabeth. Find peace. Find yourself again."

He left, ignoring her strangled cries and words of pleading that followed his exit, heading for the man he needed to set straight, once and for all.

Elizabeth watched in alarm as he left her life, realizing that once he found Lucky and learned the horrible truth, it really would be the very end. She had to stop it. She headed frantically for the door…she had to head off the Chernobyl that was about to eradicate her one true wish and shatter the one thing she'd clung so desperately to for oh so long.


	40. Chapter 40

"Don't you have anything better to do? You have a son of your own, remember him? Still you keep trying to take mine - what the fuck is your problem?"

Lucky was taken offguard by the sudden entrance into his home but after the initial surprise, it occurred to him that was exactly what he'd expected to happen. He could even feel bad for the poor bastard who'd been duped all this time and was still obviously living in the dark. Excusing himself from the conversation with the Contractor, he laid the tile he held onto the kitchen counter as the man exited the back door to give them privacy.

"Jason. I was expecting we'd talk today."

His emotions growing more furious with the passing minute and the man's unfazed appearance, in light of the upheaval he was raining on his life, Jason came to stop immediately before Lucky. "We're about to do a lot more than talk if you don't back the hell off!"

Sighing, Lucky walked to the fridge and grabbed a water, holding a bottle out to the steaming man in a friendly gesture, shrugging when it wasn't even acknowledged. He closed the fridge door and uncapped his own.

"Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel right now."

"Somehow I doubt that!"

"No, actually I do. I spent months believing I was Jake's father, only to find out in a heated argument between my wife, her lover and his scorned ex, that I'd been living a lie the whole time. You at least got the news from somebody who cared to soften the blow."

"What the hell did you think was going to happen when I got your **_news?_** Shrug my shoulders, shake your hand and hand over my son?"

 _"_ ** _My_** _son."_ Lucky reached in a back pocket and withdrew a folded page that he held out to Jason, who didn't even glance at it before Elizabeth tore in from the living area.

"Jason! We weren't finished - please, can we go somewhere to talk some more?"

Lucky looked from her flushed, frazzled face that made it obvious she'd been rushing to get there, to the man who hadn't taken cold eyes off him since he arrived.

"Talk more - oh, so you got the full story already? You know that not only is Jake my son, but that Eliz…"

"Stop it, Lucky!" In a panic and hurrying to cut the words off that would undoubtedly seal her fate, Elizabeth rushed to Jason to grab him by the arm, "Please, Jason - let's talk, huh? We can go down to the docks, take a walk by…"

"I can understand why you've never really accepted that Jake is not yours," Jason eased Elizabeth aside and stepped around her to Lucky, who was looking at her with growing incredulity, "But fake tests aren't going to change what's already been done. You need to give this shit up already!"

"You're absolutely right about that - it's already done! Jake isn't yours, man," he pointed at Elizabeth, "She lied - _again!_ Why don't you ask her? You have no choice but to accept what's in black and white, but ask her - she'll tell you too."

"Don't bring her into this - this is between you and me. You obviously have a problem with me and I get it - I slept with your wife - it was a shitty, dishonorable, out of character thing to do and I get that you're still pissed. But don't take it out on my son and Elizabeth. Just stop."

Lucky folded both arms and looked curiously at the man he'd known for a really long time, going from his angry stance to the panicked, antsy one behind him, and he realized how much had stayed the same.

"So, you're still defending Elizabeth, huh? She played you like a stupid violin, wrecked your relationship and took you for a fool for years, and you stand here defending her honor - **_to me,_** of all people too."

"We're not discussing Elizabeth - You too can do what you want - have at it on your own time - what I want is for you to stop hurting my son. How do you think this is going to affect Jake, or haven't you thought about that at all?"

"I will make this as little disruptive as I can for Jake, but it's too late to totally spare him, man. I won't pretend to my son to not be his father, just so his mother won't look like the lying, manipulative, controlling slut she is. Protecting her conjured image is not my job…I wonder if Sam knows it's become yours again?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when the force of a double armed push crashed his chest to send him flying back into the refrigerator behind him, as Jason took rapid steps to his face.

"I'm telling you for the last time - _don't talk about Sam!_ Mention my wife again you'll swallow every teeth in your head!"

"Your _wife_ , is it?" Lucky eased off the refrigerator and rubbed his suddenly throbbing chest with one hand as he stepped around the brute to catch sight of Elizabeth, who was still covering her mouth in a gasp from when he'd gone flying. "Did you hear that…still think you have a fairytale-ending coming?" He turned back to Jason and lifted a hand in his direction, "I'm going to let that go because I deserved that one…but you and I need to get a few things straight right now."

"Exactly! Like, I'm not going to keep having this stupid conversation about something we can't change. It sucks what happened to you and I'll spend my life making it up to Sam for the way I hurt her, but what's done is done. Leave it the hell alone and leave my son alone too!"

"This is ridiculous." Lucky looked to Elizabeth to shake his head in wonder, "You haven't told him, have you?"

"Lucky, Jason has a right to be in Jake's life - Jake loves him, don't you see that? He's going to be so angry if you do this…he might never forgive you for it."

"Jake needs to know I've been his father this whole time, and by blood too. Whether or not he finds out you've known all along and kept it to yourself, while you watched his " _dads_ " go at each other's throats for your own sick pleasure, is up to you."

"Lucky, please!" Elizabeth took a rapid step in his direction but it was too late, he'd already uttered the dreadful words. Frantic eyes flew from him to Jason, panic bursting wide open when his eyes met hers and she realized from the narrowing of furrowing browns that he'd definitely heard.

"What's he talking about? What is he saying?"

"Oh, so you're finally listening now?" The purposeful jeer took aim and rendered its target stunned. "Not only did the test confirm Jake is mine, it also perfectly matches the first one…to a tee…and guess who knew what it said this whole time?"

Elizabeth wanted to faint. She wanted to see his reaction but she couldn't look, couldn't meet disapproving eyes that would never look at her the same again. A tiny spot on the kitchen floor got rivetingly interesting and she couldn't tear away.

"What is he saying?" Jason drew closer to her, instantly sickeningly aware of her refusal to meet his gaze. "Elizabeth, what is this?"

"What you and I have not been privy to - the truth!" Lucky tried handing him the paper again. "Why don't you look at it for yourself and finally wake up…like I had to!"

Jason looked from her to the man's face, to his outstretched hand, then back to his face and over to her. Suddenly it was like some slow-motion scene from a bad movie that churned his stomach and stirred bile. His gaze fell once again to the folded square held out to him and he took it slowly, alarm bells going off in his head because the unfolding drama was suddenly strikingly real. When he read the words, his head moved once again to the woman in search of some sort of negation, but she hadn't moved, the spot on the floor still the only thing she would acknowledge. Lucky's voice drummed through the haze to find him again.

"Look, I'm sorry, man - it sucker-punches you to the gut and turns your world a disgusting shade of grey - I remember - but it is what it is like you said. Jake is my son and _this_ is now his home."

But Jason wasn't listening to Lucky. " _Why?_ " The soft anguish left his mouth and his gaze still locked her frame, followed by a gutted bark that got her attention this time to startle her to jump a foot out of her skin, " ** _WHY?"_**

Tearing up the only way she knew how, covering her face to hide her shame and elicit any sympathy he might have left for her, she bawled into her hands and garbled, "I'm sorry! Jason, I'm sorry!"

 _"_ _You're sorry!"_ The labored steps to her sobbing form stopped him just a hair away and he wanted to shake her like he'd never wanted another woman in his life. "You're sorry? Damn _your sorry!_ Explain! Explain why you would do this to Jake…to Sam…to me!" When she only sobbed louder, he made his noise louder still. " _Fucking explain yourself!_ Do you know what you cost me? **_Do you?"_**

"Jason, please…I just wanted a family with you." She blubbered through hands that wiped the tears from her eyes as she dared to face him, "You wanted that too, remember? You did - you proposed to me when you found out I was pregnant and you didn't care whether it was yours or not!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? I felt **_sorry_** for you! You were pregnant and alone - the jerk had just ripped your heart out and left you with a kid and one more on the way - **_I felt bad for you!_** Sam and I were working things out - I loved her so much that I was trying harder than I've every tried in my **_life_** to forgive someone! I wanted to **_help_** you! I thought your children deserved better and I knew Sam would understand. You used that kindness - our friendship, against me?"

"It was more than that and you know it! If you were so in love with that whore…" she jumped a foot back when he advanced so fast she thought she had been struck.

Gritting angry teeth and physically pulling himself back in the last second, he snarled, "Don't you dare! Don't ever call her out of her name again, _so help me!"_

Fresh tears stung her eyes when the man she thought she knew was nowhere to be found and an angry, itchy one loomed over her cowering frame instead. She'd never seen him like this, whispers of the feared hitman coming to mind to give her a snapshot of how his enemies must feel right before he takes care of business. Her eyes sought frantically for Lucky across the room, where he leaned against a counter and shrugged in her direction.

"Don't look at me - you're a big girl - handle him the same way you have for years."

"Is that what you're going to do, Elizabeth? You're going to **_handle_** me?"

"Of course not - Jason, nobody means to me what you do. That's why I had to do this, can't you see that? I saw what you wanted so I made it happen - you have to see that!"

He couldn't be hearing her right. Just hours before, he was so damn happy…the love of his life had stuck it out and with her love beside him, his damaged brain finally eased itself back into place, reprising memories of a life he wanted more than anything to get back. He could remember his sons with such clarity, was so anxious to get their lives on track…but somehow, he ended up in this nightmare with this she-devil disguised as a caring human. Why was everything to do with this woman such a monumental boomerang mistake to his life?

 _"_ _What I wanted!"_ The words sputtered on the tail of a disbelieving chuckle as he raised a hand to press a thumb urgently at his throbbing temple, unable to believe the last few minutes were really happening. "What I wanted was a life with Sam…a family, like we planned from the beginning! What I wanted was to be left alone to love her like she deserves…but you had other plans for our lives…and I just _let_ it happen! I just let **_you_** happen to us!"

He was addressing her like an unwelcome stranger who'd invaded his inner sanctum, not the woman he'd promised forever, not too long ago. How had she gotten here again, to this place where he was constantly leaving? Only this time, it would be with hate for her? How could she ever live with that? His angry words kept coming.

"You will never stop…just one destructive, hateful lie after the other, masked behind the most selfish form of what you call love…you don't know what love is and you have no respect for what it means!"

"Please, Jason - will you please let me explain?"

"How? What could you possibly say to make me understand why you would spin such a wicked lie and allow me to bond with a little boy you knew wasn't mine? How could you explain watching me tear Sam's heart out, trying to do the right thing for a child you were lying about because it benefitted you? What is the matter with you?"

"I didn't know what to do. I was all alone with a little boy and a baby on the way, and Lucky was weak and unreliable…you weren't. I know I said I could do it on my own, but you were standing by me, showing me what a real man looked like, someone I could depend and always count on, someone who wouldn't leave me to carry a marriage and children by myself…you were the man my children and I deserved!"

"What you _deserved?_ You selfish bi…I had to choose between my child and my life and I chose **_him_** …when you knew damn well it wasn't a choice I needed to make?"

She was shaking her head when the weight of his words would bog it down and ugly everything up. That's not what happened. They were in love! He'd wanted her at all costs! "Would you have chosen any differently, though?" She knew it wouldn't have made a bit of difference - she's the one he wanted.

 ** _"_** ** _YES! YES, I WOULD HAVE!"_**

"Really, Jason? Even if the baby wasn't yours you'd still marry me - that's what you said! Those were _your_ words!" She grabbed both arms in desperation for him to remember it the way she did, but he flashed and threw her off with the force of someone being touched by the worst filth.

"I wanted to help you! I was doing everything in my power to forgive the woman I loved so we could move on! You were my friend and terrified you would have to do it alone - of course I wanted to help you! You could've just told the damn truth."

"But you wouldn't have fallen in love with me! You'd have given that toxic situation you were stuck in, everything, and all I'd have been left with was _friendship_! When you believed I was carrying your child, we bonded in a way nobody can ever take away from me. The way you would look at me, knowing your baby was growing inside me…I wasn't about to give any of that up, Jason - I couldn't!"

Lucky couldn't believe the melodrama exploding in his kitchen! It appeared he'd been forgotten in his own home, run over by two people who were the least invited to be there. "Don't mind me - I only live here - same guy who had his life torn apart by your tortured, irresistible, undying love - but just out of curiosity - you two _do_ realize that you're **_equally_** responsible for this whole, satirical debacle, don't you? If Sam and I had factored, _even a little bit_ , into your decision that night, **_none_** of us would be in this place right now - you do see that?" He glanced between the two sets of eyes snapped in his direction, suddenly registering that he was still there.

Jason nodded ruefully, "You're absolutely right. I played a major part in this." He looked back to Elizabeth, seeing no remnants of the woman he thought he knew. "I left myself and my woman completely open so you could do this. They warned me, Carly and Sam - they both warned me that you were not the person I thought you were - but they didn't know how _honest_ you were, they couldn't see what you only showed _me_ …but I made that all up, didn't I? This is **_exactly_** who you've always been!"

"You didn't make anything up. This is me, standing in front of you, loving you every bit as much as I did then. I'm the same woman you wanted a life with."

"You keep repeating that like it should mean something more each time you say it! It doesn't, haven't you seen that yet? I'm **_not_** in love with you. I don't **_want_** a life with you. Can you hear any of that now - or are you still stuck in the alternate feed playing inside your head?"

When her mouth fell open at his uncharacteristically hurtful, lancing words, Jason turned to Lucky, shutting her down with a force.

"I need to be there when you tell Jake. Please…I need him to know that he did nothing wrong and this had nothing to do with him. I need to see he'll be alright."

Lucky knew he could pull the douche card and play it for all it was worth…but none of it would change anything. "Of course. I have nothing to gain from being spiteful when the welfare of my son is at stake. Things are quite different now, and believe it or not, I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm not sorry they worked out in my favor, but I am sorry it's in a way that will devastate my son."

It was like getting hit by daggers tipped with poison each time Jason heard the man refer to his son as…Jake really wasn't his? His little boy was really not a part of him? What hellish new reality was this?

Nodding tersely to Lucky, he looked back at the woman he hoped he'd seen for the very last time.

"Stay away from me…and stay very far from my family. Come anywhere near Sam and Danny with your poison, and I'll make you live to regret it!"

He turned and left before the boiling anger would consume him, cutting away from her strangled sob and tortured silent plea for pity, knowing the friendship he thought he'd at least always afford her, had crashed and died along with anything else he'd already buried once he'd started listening to his heartbeat's singular throb. Reeling from the loss of his son and the reality he thought he knew, instinct steered him in search of the _one_ person who would know how to soothe the devastating hurt and help him to place it. He needed his fix like he needed the air she expelled, to breathe.

Edgy and too furious to be still, Sam had stormed from her mother's house to the driveway, with Captain in tow. Danny had been too engrossed in the word game he was playing with Molly to notice she'd slammed out of the kitchen, fiery after the initially stunned stillness. Too wired to get behind the wheel, she stomped back and forth by the SUV, numerous scenarios of increasingly painful deaths playing in her mind's eye as she occasionally paused to scream out her frustrating anger. She needed to hit! Preferably a soft face with a softer head that had dreamed up a lie so devastating in scope, leaving bodies in its wake from the moment it had been conceived. The _pain_ they'd gone through! The _agony_ she'd felt as a result of one careless, malicious act! The _devastation_ father and son would now be subjected to, the unwitting participants being shredded at the materialization of this new development! The sheer, sheer gall of the lying, conniving instigator!

"Fucking bitch! Dead fucking bitch!" How was it possible to hate someone so definitively? Forcing herself to calm at the thought of Danny possibly seeing her out the window, Sam took a deep, stilling breath and opened the door to let Captain lead her inside the SUV.

An hour later, she'd had no luck locating the evil bitch - she wasn't on Spoon Island and Nikolas had no idea where she ran off to, telling Sam he wouldn't tell her if he did, given the murderous state she was obviously in. When he'd failed to convince her to stay and calm down, she'd stormed the woman's front door, pounding it mercilessly when there was no answer to the drilling doorbell, followed by her place of employment, then every coffee shop and known haunt - but she came up empty. The last spot Sam checked, her favorite - in line only to the penthouse and the little fuckshack they'd holed up for a sleazy summer - the pier, that spot they'd always seemed to just _"run"_ into each other constantly. Knowing now those haunts were deliberate and coined for the systematic destruction of her relationship, Sam felt any calm that had begun to surface, quickly disappear to restore the rampant rage she needed to expel.

Watching as Captain took off down the pier chasing a wayward gull he'd disturbed from where it perched atop a wooden post, her senses suddenly came alive at a distinct scent, seconds before she was roughly grabbed from behind and crushed against a brute force, while a hand clasped tightly over her mouth and squeezed the scream that arose.

 ** _"_** ** _Mmmmmhm! MmmmmmmmhM!"_**

Frantic to see her assailant, Sam fired off a backward kick with a heeled boot, while she wiggled one arm loose to reach back and claw where her hand landed to the neck of the brute who pulled her into the nearest alley. Her fingernails claimed flesh and blood but she was still being dragged, rougher now since she had the temerity to fight back!

"Fucking bitch! Shut up or I'll break your fucking neck!"

Her earlier fury now multiplied by a realization that she was in trouble unless she quickly got the upperhand, Sam raised an arm to crash a pointed elbow to his ribcage, causing him to bring them to a sudden stop, where she was thrust roughly to the wall now at her back and freed from gripping arms. Stopping to catch her breath, she faced the masked assailant, the black ski cap worn to hide his face now being rolled up at one edge, so he could gauge the extent of his scrapes with gloved fingers of his left hand.

"You fucking scratched me - you're gonna pay for that!"

But he'd made the fatal mistake of releasing her, compounded by the original one of grabbing the _wrong_ woman on the _wrong_ day in the first place!


	41. Chapter 41

A secluded, abandoned warehouse was the last place Sam wanted to be, given the mood she was in, and with company that was shit to boot! She could hear the sounds of a docking boat but knew the crew couldn't see her from that vantage point by the water. She was on her own. A quick sizing up gleaned the creep to be a good two feet taller than she was with about seventy pounds on her…but she'd beaten worse odds.

He was fast, cursing at her some more when he lunged to grab her by the arm and shove her hard up against the wall, where her back sounded out the force of the hit. Momentarily stunned, Sam swiftly recovered to scope the best point of contact, drawing from every self defense move she'd ever learned, deciding on a side step that would put her on the outside of where he grabbed her arm, and spinning to aim for the eyes with jutting fingers - but he was expecting it, quickly gripping her wrist to pull her back into a vice hold.

"I have suppen for you, you little bitch!"

A rough hand groped and tore at her breasts when he shoved against her at the wall, one leg cramming between hers to spread them to his command while he grappled with the waist of her jeans.

Sam knew all she needed to do was whistle for Captain and whisper those two little words…but she needed to hit…might as well be the asshole who thought he had the right to manhandle women.

Sounding from deep within her, using the burning rage she was already feeling, she screamed out the energy that shoved his weight off her enough to get the room she needed to lift her right leg and stomp down hard, the six inch boot heel not missing the targeted foot to render her assailant distracted enough for Sam to use his howl of pain to her advantage, breaking quickly from his arms and putting all her strength behind a mighty kick to his knee. He stumbled in a hobble but didn't go down, grabbing hold of her again to grip her body tight against him, but she'd had enough of that! Quickly pushing the long sleeve black shirt back from the arm clasped across her chest, Sam bit down with all her might, instantly using his relaxing of the arm to free her right hand and send two spread fingers up and behind her head to jab at his eyeballs, using his pained distraction to break out of his reach, turning to kick him once again in the same exact spot her foot had landed before, knowing the soreness would be compounded to send him down this time.

Just as she expected, he went down howling. Keeping her pace to hook her thumbs and bring both hands with fingers in a straight, tight line, she swept in to crash the sides of his throat in a quick, painful slice, grimacing angrily when he landed on his knees before her, giving her perfect angling to heave back and send her foot in a direct kick to his groin, the contacting pain eliciting a strangled sound as he went completely down on one side, both hands covering damaged jewels where he curled in a fetal heap.

The sound of scampering paws and a threatening growl brought Captain to her side and in a snap, teeth bared to go clamping for the writhing man's throat.

"Captain, heel!"

Stepping closer as he obeyed her command and moved to shift at her leg, Sam stroked his head and scratched his ears, "Good boy," her eyes staying locked on the man on the ground, who was in too much pain to care when she knelt next to him and roughly snatched the hood from his face.

" _Ian?_ " Rendered speechless for a minute, Sam stared in shock at the familiar face she would have never expected. The annoying but gentle, seemingly harmless photographer had never given her any reason to feel threatened by him! "Are you fucking serious? You…!" Chafing once again from people only pretending for another's benefit, Sam rose to her feet and sent one swinging into his chest. " ** _SON-OF-A-BBITCH!_** " A second kick followed for good measure. " **And what happened to your accent, huh?** "

Captain's snarl reached her ears when hurrying footsteps sounded behind them, bringing Sam to look towards the end of the alley, expecting maybe an accomplice to her assault, only to stop sharp, rendered motionless, her eyes bulging with the simultaneous instant racing of her pulse and ceasing of her breathing. Eyes that locked hers riveted where he became instantly still, his own breathing appearing labored when neither seemed to remember how to move.

A fogged minute later, Sam still could not look away. How could this be? _Who_ could this be - the picture before her certainly wasn't…couldn't… ** _impossible!_**

But that build…riveting blue eyes that bore through her as always, his sandy blond hair cropped low the way he preferred it, the signature leather jacket hugging broad shoulders like it was tailored to fit…he was staring at her, struck just as speechless and as shocked at her visage! A full minute crept by without a sound, until…

" _Sam!_ "

His voice was soft and filled with wonder, the same seductive timber that had caressed her ears in wake and in sleep for so long. YES - that had to be it…s _he had to be asleep and dreaming!_

She hadn't moved, couldn't move. Her eyes were playing some silly trick, shaping some stranger into a form they knew by the inch, bringing the impossible to life…but he was speaking again - she noticed he regained the use of his feet and took tentative steps closer, where the form she had to be dreaming took even more distinct shape.

" _Sam_ …"

The sound of her name repeated in familiarity confused her more, 'til she realized what was happening and chuckled out loud. Of course! That's it… _she was dreaming!_ She was still asleep and none of the morning had actually happened! She was still in his arms in the middle of their secluded woods, having the weirdest dream, where something that changed the course of their lives and caused all that pain wasn't turning out to be just someone's spitefully manufactured lie - where someone she knew hadn't just tried to rape her in an alley - where the man she loved wasn't standing before her…looking exactly like he did the night he left their bed and their home to disappear into the black, cold waters of the harbor! She was dreaming it all!

When Captain's threatening growl kept sounding at her side, Sam looked down to where he restlessly moved, back to the man still taking careful steps to get closer, and she had the distinct urge to reach out and pinch herself awake.

"Sam...it's me."

Her head started shaking and her eyes were staring, her heart thumping lightning fast.

"It can't be! You're…" blue eyes now closer, showed soft and filled with that thing she'd always found there…that warm welcome and enamored pleasure at the mere sight of her that always lived in their depths. "You're…! It's impossible!"

"It's me." He released the strap of the gunnysack he'd been holding over one shoulder to allow it to fall, slowly bringing both hands to stretch out in front of him, "I'm really sorry to just spring up on you like this - I wanted to come to you differently, but I heard noises and then…" his hands withdrew to his sides and his eyes warmed even more, "…well, here you are." The softest sigh escaped his lips on the release of the whispered word, "Hi."

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" She really was awake! This was really happening…it had all happened…people were creeps who looked out for self and to hell with everyone else…and here was another now, trying to use the form of a remarkable love to gain advantage! "Where did you come from?"

Gesturing behind him, he spoke slowly when he still had trouble forming the words. "We just docked - from Antigua."

He was lying. Eyes that roved his face and arms found no tan telling a tale of one just arriving from the sunny Caribbean.

"Really?"

Picking up the dripping skepticism, he couldn't help but smile…those senses were as keen as he remembered. "Yes, that's where the ship from Brussels dropped anchor. I was able to get on this one to New York in just a couple hours after we got there. Pure luck."

"I see. And you were in Brussels because…?"

"It's a long story - one I'm looking forward to telling you all about - it's just so damn good to see you right now - I can hardly catch my breath!"

Movement from the corner of her eye caught the man forgotten on the ground, trying to stand to his feet, hopeful in using her distraction to sneak towards the back of the warehouse.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" She caught his attention and he halted in stride before turning back to glare at her in the hate being equally returned. "Unless you plan on taking yourself to the police station, I suggest you sit your rapist ass down to wait for your escort."

"Rapist?" The angering tone whipped Sam's attention to where she'd momentarily forgotten to expect the sight she'd see. The gunnysack hit the ground as he took menacing steps towards Ian. "He touched you?"

" ** _Hey!_** " The snapping sound of her own voice stopped the con in his tracks to bring his gaze back to her. "I don't need rescuing!" Sam glared while she swiped the phone from her back pocket.

He couldn't stop the force of the emotions still rearing through him at the long awaited, ardently prayed for sight of her again, beautiful and fierce in all her glory. He'd missed her every second he'd been gone, but had no idea exactly how much, until her sudden image before him had stricken like a deafening thunderbolt and robbed all oxygen from his body. "You never did."

There it was again - that familiarity that ebbed a touch of truth. Turning her back to blot the distracting sight that had brought the permanently burned memory to the forefront of her mind, Sam looked at the crumbling photographer before her. "You disappoint me, Ian. You really do!"

"You know him?"

Ignoring the question that was simultaneous with Ian's plea, "You don't need to involve the police, Samantha - I wasn't going to hurt you," Sam waited for the call to connect.

"Right…that's what the stocking cap, the lonely alley, all that rough shit, clearly says."

"I had to get your attention - get you alone. You've ignored me since day one, and your friend said you'd only notice me if I took charge this way. She said that a woman of action like you, only responded to a bold move - that this is the sort of thing you like. She said it was the only way you'd take me seriously…I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I was never afraid that you could. As you can see, I can take care of myself - and no friend of mine would ever give you some asinine advice like that, which you're a turd for taking, by the way!" When the Desk Sergeant picked up, Sam reported the incident and requested a squad car, then turned her attention back to the stranger who'd been riveted on her the whole time. "And what's your angle, huh? Why are you showing up here like this? Who the hell are you?"

"You know who I am, Sam."

The way he said her name, so familiar, so coated in loving admiration of one who knew her. Her mind was going back and forth between real and impossible and deep down she knew the truth…but her eyes…what they told her mind was surely a lie?

"WRONG - I have no idea who you are - so how about you tell me what it is you want?"

The sound of sirens drew all attention to the arrival of two of PC's finest, who got busy taking the injured photographer into custody and Sam's statement of the day's events. When she looked to point out the stranger who could give a witness account to the officer, she was surprised to find the man nowhere in sight.

"Where did he go?"

"Where did who go?" The officer looked quizzically behind him then back at her.

"That man - the one who was standing right there!" Pointing to the spot, Sam looked at him keenly. "you saw him, right? He was right there when you drove up."

"I didn't see anyone, Mrs. Morgan. Somebody else saw what happened?"

" ** _YES!_** The man who looks just like…"

"Who? Who did he look like?"

Cocking her head in stark wonder, Sam thought for a moment that maybe she'd imagined him. Maybe her mind had conjured him in a moment when he was forefront in her thoughts…but she knew that wasn't true. He'd been there. He'd vanished when the police arrived because much like someone else she knew very well, he had absolutely no use for them. Just like…

"No one. I don't know who he was - he must've taken off when he saw I had things under control. It's fine - if we're done here, I'd really like to get back to my son."

"We're done for now. We'll be in touch."

With Captain in tow, Sam made her way back down the dock to her SUV, her mind racing the whole time in attempt to decipher the day. They were in an alley - where the hell could he have gone? She was no longer wondering if she'd seen him - she knew damn well she had! Who he was, bothered her so much more. She knew who he wanted her to believe he was - but to what end? Where had he come from?

She drove almost absently back to her mother's house - her mind filled with so much more than the desperate liar she'd hunted for hours, the peppered confrontation she'd sought, dying like the weak little whimper the nurse was in reality. She now had a huge problem unfolding - one she'd never expected in a million years and one she realized she needed to get out in front of quickly. Someone was on a mission to cause a real collision in their lives.

She was back at her mother's but didn't feel like going in, so she rounded the corner to the backyard, taking a seat on the bench facing the lake. It was peaceful and calm with the afternoon sun glistening off the water.

"I've been calling you."

Startled to find she wasn't alone, Sam's head jerked to the sound of his voice coming from the direction of the oak to her right, to find him seated at its base, his back and head resting to its trunk as though in dire need of its contact and support. Eyes that drank in the sight of him caught the haunting behind his own that bore through her, their pain painting the anguish he was feeling. She didn't move, struck momentarily speechless when she wondered which to tackle first - his explosion from the horrible news, the torture he was so obviously in, or the unbelievable appearance of a body double.

"I'm sorry."

The soft sound of his voice took the decision from her, when his apology sounded the pain behind his eyes. Making her way over to where he sat, Sam knelt to her knees before him, before dropping to a seat, bringing her knees up to hug them to her torso.

"What are you sorry for?" Her eyes bore through his as they connected in that way that was theirs alone.

"For what I said…for leaving like that. For every second I ever spent away from you."

The silent minute that passed between them was full. Blue eyes locked brown and when they bared the soul of the man she loved with every fiber of everything that was her, she knew she wasn't wrong. This is him! His face might be different, some traits might have adjusted, but she knew these eyes…more so, she knew the soul that lived behind the eyes of the man that touched her at her core everytime they bore through her. This was the love of her life!

"Are you okay?" The soft question left her even as she knew he wasn't. How could he be?

The tiny nod of his head was a lie for her benefit.

"She lied, Sam. All this time - she's been lying."

Allowing her eyes to drift to the ground, Sam quickly hid the anger that sprung up at the mention of the woman that once again boiled her blood.

"You're always so surprised when she does, even though she's made it an art form. It's funny how you expect it from me and Carly but are always so shocked when it's her...again!"

He could see the minute she said it she'd wanted to take it back, but he wouldn't let her.

"You're right. I've been unfair to you so many times…I'm sorry, Sam."

Sighing, Sam reigned in the petty before it took hold. "You don't need to apologize. I didn't mean to make it about me - it just pisses me off how she gets the benefit of the doubt all the time when it's so obviously misplaced! I want to fucking strangle her for doing this to you!"

"She did it to _us!_ "

His voice had gone soft again and the pain behind his blue eyes had multiplied when Sam raised her head to see…the apology swimming in them for so much more than just today.

"I wish I could take the pain away. I wish I could make it all not true for you." He loved that little boy with everything in him - anyone who'd spent five minute with them could see it. That he had to go through the pain of losing him once again was something she'd take away in an instant if she could. He was losing his son for a third damn time!

"You didn't do anything." Reaching an arm out to brush the errant hair from her face, Jason traced her cheek with the back of his fingers, to fold them beneath her chin, lifting it slightly to draw her eyes once again. "Of all the pain I've caused you - and there's been a lot - that whole, entire year was the worst. You deserved so much better from me…I don't know how you ever forgave me that. Now to find out what I put you through was based on a lie?"

When he still held her chin, Sam's eyes fell to the ground to break her gaze away. "I wasn't a saint that year either, remember? I'd take a lot of it back too, if I could!"

"We both would." The slight tug to lift her chin where he held her brought her eyes back up to his. "I need you to know it was always about Jake. I had to protect him."

"I know."

He couldn't look away from her face, tracing his thumb on the outside of her lower lip that quivered at his touch. She was so beautiful. He couldn't remember a time since they met she hadn't dragged through the trenches right next to him to cheer him on. That he could've ever allowed his life to touch, much less hurt her as it had, appalled him anew.

"Do you? Because I need to make sure that you know I've never wanted…" His eyes followed the thumb that traveled her soft lip to idle at the corner of paradise, "… _needed_ ," then slipped between it's guided parting to glide slowly across the surface as he moved his head closer, their irresistible pull bringing him in descent, "…loved **_anyone_** , like I love you."

Colliding desperately in a crush for thirst quenching contact with her, his lips pulled her in as his arms encircled to claim the rest of her. She was always home for him. When he ached, she soothed him. When he cried, she comforted him. When he was lost, she found him. When he was happy she was at the center of it…and when nothing else made sense or went right, the one true thing in this universe that never changed was she was his and he was hers.

 ** _A/N: Fair warning guys...this will not be a mirror of what's happening on the show. Not particularly a fan of the twin storyline, especially seeing what it's done to JaSam's history and deep connection, so I won't even try to put my spin on it. I enjoy both pairings, as they each have traits I love about the couple, but real damage has been done to both. Love watching Dream together, and knowing they were JaSam just cinched it for me. Now that they've been torn down, I'm still stuck in soap jail, wanting Dream back but also wanting JaSam too...so here, I intend to have them be one and the same. GH writers will take their story in whatever disastrous direction they please, while they continue to_ _screw_ _this iconic couple over...again. There's no undoing what they've done to my JaSam...sigh._**


	42. Chapter 42

Daybreak streamed through the window of the penthouse bedroom where she laid with an arm curled beneath her head, her sleepless gaze fixated on his face in troubled slumber. He'd ridden his bike all night, showing up to her arms tired and spent in the wee hours of the morning, falling asleep only after she'd held him to her bosom and soothed him there. Worry marred his handsome features in sleep and Sam knew the pain, fresh and scarring, had followed him into unconsciousness. Little did he know, the day from hell for him had been capped with a new surprise for them all and was far from over.

As her mind compared his new facial features at rest to those she'd studied for years, she wondered what the stranger really meant to bring in the form of disruption to everything they now knew. The brief conversation with him had warned her of his intentions…he meant to pass himself off as the man in bed next to her. Did he know Jason had returned to them? Did he think there was still an empty space open for him to fill, or was he aware but expected to create enough doubt to work his way in regardless?

She studied the face that held no sign of former looks and there was a time when that scheme might have worked…but that time had long passed. She'd had a chance to reestablish that connection with the soul of the man who no matter the vessel, the real him could never be masked for long. The people who knew him best, would know him anywhere.

But this stranger was more than that somehow. There was something eerily familiar in the way he'd looked at her, said her name. His eyes held more than just the right color…they held history…they held knowledge…they held love! But _how?_

"Hey, beautiful."

Sam could feel her eyes soften and smile, even when the rest of her didn't move, locking eyes that had drifted open where he laid watching her, his mumbled greeting washing her ears with balm. He was still wearing the dark tee and jeans from the day before, after falling asleep where they'd laid quietly for the longest time, needing no words to convey each other's hurt.

"Hey." She matched the soft tone of his voice and they laid still together, eyes locked in gratitude for their first sight of the new day falling upon each other.

"How long have you been watching me?"

She didn't answer, instead reached a hand to tenderly stroke a strong, stubbled jaw, allowing her fingers to deftly travel its length, while she drank in the presence of him.

"Are you okay?"

Her eyes shifted to meet his, startled by the concern growing in their depths for her after the shock _he'd_ had. "I should be asking you that."

Jason cupped her hand at rest on his jaw and pressed it tighter to his face, eyes momentarily closing to the effect of her soft skin upon him and her love upon his heart.

"I'm fine." His eyes opened to seek her again. "As long as I have you and Danny, I'll never be anything but."

She knew he wasn't really…but there was one thing he never had to worry about. "We're not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

When he closed his eyes on the release of a soft breath and kissed her palm, Sam inhaled deeply, taking the moment to do what she must.

"Something happened yesterday." She met eyes that locked hers again and chose the words to follow carefully. "I ran into someone I need to tell you about."

"Yah? Who?"

Easing to one elbow, Sam tucked loose strands behind an ear and held his gaze. "I was at the docks, wrapping up a little situation when this guy…"

"Situation at the docks? What do you mean - what happened?" He rose himself to sit up and lean against the headboard, something telling him she was snipping a story and he wouldn't like one more word she uttered.

"Doesn't matter - I had it under control, but this guy…"

"Had what under control, Sam? Were you attacked there again?"

"Will you stop cutting me off and just let me tell you?"

"Okay, but stop leaving stuff out. Start with the ' _situation'_ you handled."

"That has no relevance to what I'm trying to tell you."

"I still want to know."

He could be so stubborn. Dropping a deep sigh, she rushed out the incident with Ian, keeping her eyes darting from his angering face to a chosen spot on the linen, totally expecting the explosion that happened when she'd gotten only halfway through, watching the sudden burst of energy that sprung him from the bed in anger.

"Where is he?"

"In jail, so calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Sam! I knew I should've tossed his sniveling ass off the MetroCourt balcony that night! I'm gonna fucking kill him!"

"You're not killing anybody and I'm glad you weren't the one who came along yesterday because you'd be the one going to prison!"

"What do you mean, who came along? Who else was there?"

Sam sighed and scooted to the foot of the bed, "This is where it gets really interesting." She eyed him cautiously, knowing he wasn't going to get any less riled up after hearing her next words, "it was you… _you_ showed up yesterday!"

"What?"

"I had Ian on the ground and I turned around, Jason and there you were! Only it wasn't, _you_ …" she flexed her hand towards him in the awkward way of using a prop to make a point that wasn't really the point she wanted to make, "…it was the old you!" She saw his eyes narrow in confusion and hurried out, "The way you used to look - before your surgery - the face you had before that car ran you over!"

 _"_ _W-h-a-t?"_ He was trying to follow but she lost him more with each sentence. "Sam…?"

"I know, I know it sounds ridiculous - imagine being there and _seeing_ it?"

"Seeing what? Are you saying I have a double?"

"Oh, he's more than just a double, Jason…he wanted me to believe he was you!"

Taking a seat next to her on the edge of the bed, Jason rested a hand on hers where it laid at her hip. "Okay - let's start again. This dead son-of-a-bitch attacked you, and afterwards you saw somebody who looked like I used to look…and then what happened?"

"He called me by name."

His mind raced for a second. "Okay, he heard the idiot say it during your altercation - what else?"

"No, Jason - you're not listening to me. He said my name like he _knew_ me! Like you say it all the time…nobody else says my name like you do…but he did! He said he'd just arrived on a boat from Brussels and he'd tell me all about it later."

"Like hell he will!"

"He wanted me to believe he was you - he kept saying, ' _its me, Sam,'_ like I was really supposed to recognize him. He really believed he was you, Jason."

The bedroom door being pushed open drew their attention to a sleepy, pajama-clad Danny, rubbing one eye as he yawned into the room, strolling by his mother to rest between his father's legs and yawn again, his head going to rest on Jason's chest.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Sam watched as Jason hoisted Danny to his lap, hugging him close where he closed his eyes again and snuggled into his father, and it reinforced what she already knew…Danny knew Jason too! He'd known him before he'd even awoken from the coma with a new face, unrecognizable to them all…except Danny. The little boy whom he'd saved getting tossed from the roof of the hospital and brought home to their family, committed to being his father when he had no idea that he really was…Danny knew him long before any of them ever did. That kind of connection cannot be taught or fabricated…it either is, or it isn't. Danny and Jason together had been magic from the very start, and watching them now, Sam was reminded how hard it would be for anybody to make someone who loved him, doubt him in the least.

The doorbell broke the silence in the room and Sam left father and son to find out who was stopping by so early, struck speechless when the door opened to the sight she was hoping she'd remembered wrong.

"Hi, Sam."

When his features struck her dumb, his words reminded her to speak. "You have some nerve coming to my home!"

He knew she'd be wary after the docks and he wanted to give her time to adjust, but it was time he knew they didn't have. "I'm sorry that I have to do this - I'd give you time if I could, but you're in danger."

"You're the only one bringing danger to me. What is it that you want?"

"You're my family, Sam…you and Danny - you're my family! I need to tell you everything. I know it's a shock, me turning up like this, after what happened to me - but once you've heard…"

The door at her back swung open further to reveal Jason had followed down the stairs and now stood facing the man claiming to be him. Sam turned quickly to intervene, struck animatedly by the unreal presence of both men, Jason and his double - right there before her - both claiming to be him, each bracing for a confrontation at the sight of each other. Knowing Jason was about to go into protective mode, Sam pressed a palm calmingly to his chest, as lord help this guy if he thought him to be a threat.

Jason was dumbfounded - he'd heard every word Sam said upstairs but his mind had not fully prepared him for what he would really see. She hadn't embellished even a little bit - the man before them didn't just _resemble_ his old features, he _embodied_ everything. It was like looking into the mirror and seeing his old self looking back, only it was impossible!

"What the hell is this? Who are you?"

"Jason Morgan - who the hell are you?"

When his jaw clenched with the force of holding his temper in check, Jason tried again. "You might want to reconsider whatever sick game you think you're about to play with my family! I will take - you - down!"

"I'm not looking for a fight."

"Then you came to the wrong damn place!" He stepped forward, driving the double to take several steps back into the hallway, steely gaze never leaving his own when the door closed softly behind them.

Sam stood in front of the door she'd closed so as not to disturb Danny, whom she was guessing Jason had left asleep upstairs in her bed. Marveling at the sight she had to see to fully believe, she stepped between Jason and the man he was ready to pounce upon.

"Look - as you can see, you're playing a very dangerous game. **_This_** is Jason Morgan…" she braced one hand to the arm of the man she loved, while staring into the eyes of the other, eyes that still appeared so damn familiar. "You can't be him because Jason is standing right here. I don't know how you got confused, but you need to leave…right now!"

Without breaking the steely stare they had going on, he told her, "I can't Sam. I'm not leaving you with this imposter one more minute." He looked to her and back, "Why would you believe he was me…he doesn't even **_look_** like me!"

Still spinning, Sam uttered a new thought. "You may know things you shouldn't, but you obviously didn't finish your homework. Jason had an accident and his face had to be reconstructed. Somebody trying to step into his life should know that."

"Sounds kind of convenient to me." He wasn't looking away from the icy blue glare burning him through. "So that's the story you told to get to my family?"

"You're _not leaving her?"_ The man's earlier words still stung with their boldness. "You've come as close as you're getting to my family, and you're about to find it's been as civil as it's going to get with me!"

The elevator doors opened behind them to reveal Carly Corinthos, who went straight for her friend. "Jason - thank goodness - I've been calling you all night!"

Momentarily distracted, Jason caught her look of panic that told him something was wrong. "What is it - are you okay?"

"Me? _I'm_ fine - I've been sick with worry about _you!"_ When his look asked her why, she continued, "Lucky had dinner at the restaurant last night - he told me what happened. I've been calling and calling you!" She threw a momentary look to the man at her left only to do a double-take when her eyes registered the complete scene before her. "What the hell!"

He'd been struck speechless the moment she'd arrived. He'd spent an entire afternoon and night, thinking of the best way to present himself to the people he loved. Things hadn't gone so well when he first saw Sam, and it made him realize they might not go well with his friends either. He knew they'd have a hard time at first but he never thought they'd refuse to believe him.

"Carly!"

The blonde was staring at him with eyes wide, the shock registered all over her face behind tense hands that covered her mouth.

When she couldn't respond, he continued, "It's so good to see you. I know…but it really is me, Carly."

"Like hell it is!" Jason touched his friend's arm. "I know what he looks like, but don't listen for a second to this!" Veering back to the fraud, his anger was completely unmasked. "You're starting to really piss me off with this shit!"

"Jason, who is this?" Carly had found her voice again, grabbing her friend's arm while one hand remained stuck to her face.

" _I'm_ Jason, Carly. It's me!" The sight of her filled him with such emotion, triggering memories of the myriad of times she'd had his back, warming his eyes to the welcome sight of someone else in his heart. "Look at you…I hope you're not still hiding perfect strangers with suspicious briefcases in your room."

Carly brought both hands back in place to cover her mouth in shock, riveted to blue eyes that told of knowing her at the place deep inside where her best friend lived. He stood before her, looking the way she remembered, but how on earth…?"

"Okay, this is too much…" feeling tension that was about to snap, Sam stepped in to halt the natural escalation. "You need to leave."

He was shaking his head, "I can't, Sam. I don't know who this guy is - I'm not leaving you with him."

Carly woke from the reverie and snapped her hands down, "Nobody is going anywhere!" She glared from one to the other, then rested on the sight she hadn't seen in years. "Not 'til you tell me who you are and how you know…"

"You? We're family, Carly. Before Sam and Danny, you, Sonny and the boys, were the only family I had. Sonny says I always defend you, but that's because _you've_ always defended _me_. I'm sorry I had to leave, but I'm back now. It's really me…it's Jason."

She saw what her eyes were showing her but she also knew what her heart said. "Okay, you know things only Jason could know, but Jason is standing right here. He's been here all along, so what is this? Who are you?"

"Jason Morgan!"

"Stop saying you're me and get out before I throw you out!"

Taking Jason by the hand, Sam pulled him towards the front door, "Jason, let's go. You…" She pointed at the stranger, her breath still short from the features she missed so much, "…you need to leave. Don't come here again!" She pulled on Jason some more, who hadn't budged until Carly was helping her, both stepping through the front door with him sandwiched between them glaring over Carly's shoulder at the man still standing in the hall when the door closed.

"What the hell's going on? Who's that guy?" Carly was still surprised out of her mind, Jason's old features the last thing she'd ever expect to see on someone else.

"I'd find out, if you just let me choke it out of him." He was moving back to the door after they'd freed him.

"Jason, please!" Sam's words, guttural and raw, brought him to face her anxious face.

"This is insane! He just showed up here?" Carly was still reeling from the shock. He had Jason's face! If she'd seen him just walking down the street it would've been shock enough, but he was at Jason's door! Talking to her about things only _Jason_ should know! "Is that why you can't remember anything? Is it possible you're really not…"

"Come on, Carly! So what - DNA lies now? I thought you didn't believe that guy?" Surprised by her wavering after she'd acted like she believed Jason, Sam gestured towards the closed door.

"I don't! Not really, Sam but…" her eyes darted between them, "You heard him - how did he know how Jason and I met? No stranger could possibly know that…and did you see his eyes? My God, it was Jason looking back at me from behind those eyes!"

"And who's looking at you right now, Carly?" He hadn't expected for a second that she'd question who he is, so the surprise was evident in his voice as the hurt crept up his chest.

"Jason - of course I know this is you - but…" she took the two steps to the sofa to plop unceremoniously to a cushion. "Oh, my God - this is so confusing!"

Jason took the seat next to her calmly. "That stranger may have found out how we met, but does he know the frightened Carly who showed up on my doorstep in the pouring rain, pregnant and desperate for my help…who turned into this fierce mother and protector, who'd face a room full of gangsters, - with a _bat -_ to protect her family…who would risk getting herself shot up with a deadly virus in order to save the people she loved? How could he possibly?"

Carly was staring at him, tears brimming her eyes when she knew for certain she was looking at her friend. "It didn't really do anything to me."

"Dr. Cassius had no way of knowing that you were too stubborn to let some virus beat you."

" _Jason_." Her whisper wasped between them in awe. "You remember that?"

"I remember everything, Carly."

"What? When?"

"Yesterday. Sam and I…I woke up and everything just came flooding back to me. I remember it all."

Sam stood near the fireplace with arms folded across her chest, watching the two friends reconnect, recalling a time when she'd been just the tiny bit jealous of the bond they shared…that brief period when she'd doubted her true place in his world…but that was before his love taught her the startling difference between a lifelong bond of friendship he had with Carly, and the hungry blaze that connected his soul to hers alone.

"He does, Carly. Jason got his memory back."

"Oh, my God - this is so great!" The next second Jason had to inhale deeply to catch a breath when her arms wound tightly around his neck, cutting off circulation before he eased her gently to release her hold.

"I don't know who that imposter is, or what he thinks he's about to do here, but I'm going to find out." He held onto a hand that had unwound its hold on his neck, "Promise me you'll stay away from him - at least until I find out what he's after."

"But you'll need my help to take care of this. We'll send him packing right back to wherever the hell he came from."

"No! You're staying out of it! Keep away from him - I mean it, Carly! Let me handle it."

"Fine, Jason! I'm too happy to argue with you about anything! You remember…you remember Michael, you remember me, and why you're the very best friend I ever had in this entire world! You remember!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Looks like you're the first one here, Boss."

Sonny alighted from the car when Max held the door open, fastening the dark suit jacket as he quickly surveyed the area around them. The meeting was not his idea but the location was, one of several warehouses he owned on the docks - always more comfortable on his own turf.

"We're early. I'll get set up inside - take the car round back and check in with Mario. I need that shipment docked without any problems."

"On it, Boss."

Patting Max' shoulder as he passed him towards the bay door, Sonny entered then flicked the switch to his right to flood the space with bright white light. There really was nothing to set up - the table was already in place and refreshments lined the smaller one in a far corner of the room. Knowing he still had an hour before his appointment he turned back towards the door, taking the short walk to the water, where he stood in contemplation, watching the rest of the world go about its day.

It'd been years, yet it had always struck him in the chest anytime he was anywhere near pier fifty two. The loss of his friend, his right hand, his brother was always heavy on his heart. He might have gotten him back physically, but the Jason who came back wasn't him at all. He still wanted nothing to do with him or his business, a business which felt the loss of him every single day, a business he'd helped to shape and to form, that he owned half of…but wanted no part of anymore. They had built something together that had surpassed his wildest dreams. But his brother still wanted out.

The sound of the water lapping at the dock drew his attention to where his brother went in, the spot forever giving him cold chills whenever he came near. If only he'd been there that day. If he'd arrived just a few minutes earlier - he could've had his back the way he always looked out for him. Jason Morgan had saved his hide more times than he had fingers to count…and the one time he could've really made it matter, he hadn't been there to return the favor. If only he'd been there…he'd have his brother back now.

The click of the Glock to the left of him froze his movements in a familiar situation - caught off guard by an assailant who got the drop on him.

"I don't know who you are, but you're making a big mistake."

"Don't turn around. MOVE!"

Spreading his fingers open as he extended both arms out in front, Sonny walked slowly towards the stairs, the only direction open to him. He was unarmed and Max thought he was inside the warehouse. Dammit.

"Okay, okay - don't get excited."

"I'll give the orders - SIT!"

"What do ya want?" Sonny hoped that if he kept him talking long enough Max would find him gone and come looking - would know where he'd ambled off to. Stopping in front of the bench by the stairs, he hesitated to obey the last command.

"There you go - acting like the lord of the castle - well, you know what, Corinthos?" Sonny watched as the man stepped around him into view, the gun trained anew on his heart. "You're not in charge today!"

"Big words from a mask who needs a gun to talk fore him."

When the hood was ripped instantly from his face and dropped to the bench, Sonny got the full picture. Revealing the face meant only one thing - the intent was to leave no witnesses to what was about to happen.

"Got sumpen else to say now?"

"Yeh. No idea who you are, so say your piece and get the hell outta my way."

The sound of a second Glock cocking behind him gave Sonny feelings of dejavue, as the man chuckled over at someone he couldn't see.

"You believe this guy? Fucking dinosaur thinks he's gonna rule Port Charles forever! Well guess again, Corinthos. My father might've been too scared to **_take_** this town, but he's dead now," the gun was shoved closer to Sonny's face, "And so are you!"

The booming sounds of exploding steel tore from somewhere behind them and Sonny instinctively ducked behind hands that went up to cover his head. Blast after blast filled the air and when the last one sounded, Sonny was expecting to hit the ground against his will, thought he'd finally caught the big one and would end the same way as his brother. But he wasn't falling. Damn, he wasn't even in pain - no feel of his skin tearing or steel taking up lodging inside his body, no stream of warm blood running anywhere down his limbs. Cautiously lifting his head and hands, eyes that roved his torso and found no bullet holes, fell to the man who'd been standing before him, now sprawled on the ground at his feet, eyes wide open where they stared blankly at the sky, blood spurting from his head and chest.

Shocked, Sonny turned around to see a second gunmen lying behind him, having met a similar fate. Breathing eased, Sonny stood completely tall and took a deeper breath.

"What took you so long?"

"Sorry - I didn't realize you'd be waiting."

He froze in the middle of fully turning to his savior, the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in five of the longest years of his life, bringing him to halt in his tracks. His eyes fell upon the man who still held the gun that saved his life and Sonny just about had a heart attack. The impossible was unfolding right before him, the dream he'd long prayed for, playing out in reality right there on his pier.

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Sonny. I came back."

Taking an involuntary step back, Sonny wondered if he'd finally cracked. Maybe the strain of losing his right hand had finally done it.

"Me, who?"

"Jason. Come on, Sonny…tell me you know it's me."

"What I know is that you look exactly like him. But Jason's already here. He already came home."

"That guy's not me and you know it! I know he didn't fool you too."

He was having a hard time catching his breath. This was crazy! Wasn't it? Jason's face didn't look like that anymore, his voice sounded different… ** _he_** was different! He wanted no part of the business and no part of him either, despite the fact that he'd saved his life, instinctively cut down the men who'd had him tied up in that warehouse…much like these two were cut down tonight… _that_ was Jason, right? Different, but him?

"What're you trying at, pal?"

Sonny watched as the man closed the distance between them, stepping around the gunman to stop in front of him.

"Look at me, Sonny. Take a good look…and tell me that you don't know it's me."

"Oh, I see you. A good plastic surgeon can work wonders these days - seen that too. Seen it as recently as when one worked on my brother to give him his face back."

"He's not your brother. He didn't make the Canada runs or learn to dance with Lily in your living room. He didn't go to the church to break Brenda's heart when you couldn't because she would've talked you out of it and you needed to let her go so she could live. He didn't clean up the broken glass and furniture when you thought she'd died, and every other time you couldn't get a hold on your illness. He didn't walk away from Carly and Michael so they could have a life with you, he wasn't there for the birth of **_both_** your sons, didn't hold them in his arms as babies, didn't swear to protect their family for the rest of his life…because **_he's_** not your brother, Sonny… ** _I_** am!"

Backing to the bench, Sonny stumbled over the body to plop down heavily, needing to sit when his legs gave way. Living in Port Charles, he'd seen some very unreal shit in his life, had survived some of the strangest situations imaginable, but this! This man looked exactly the way his brother did, sounded the exact same way, knew stuff only his brother could…how the fuck was that even possible?

"Boss, you okay?" Max reared into view, stopping near Sonny while taking in the scene before him. "I heard shots and went to check that you were inside but you weren't," when his eyes left the bodies on the ground and found the one standing, his intake of breath was audible. "Jason?"

"Hey, Max!"

"He's not Jason!" Sonny barked out anger and jerked from the seat. "Let's go Max! Somebody would've called the shots in by now." Refusing to look behind him, Sonny stormed the steps and took them two at a time, leaving the scene behind. When he got to the top, he stopped to look back again, finding the man who had saved his skin. "Follow me! We need to talk!"


	43. Chapter 43

" ** _Sonny!_** " Carly tore through the front door, slamming it soundly behind her as she raced for the den. " **Sonny - where are you?** "

"Who's on fire now?"

"You'll never believe what just happened!"

Sonny dropped a cube of ice in a glass and poured a drink of the scotch he'd been donning since his talk at the warehouse. His mind was still reeling from the conversation and he knew Carly's was too, having heard from the man calling himself Jason, of their earlier encounter. Turning from the bar to hand her the glass, he nodded calmly.

"You're right - I don't."

"What?"

"I saw him too." He refreshed his own glass and took Carly's hand to lead her to the sofa to sit.

"You did? Where?"

"He showed up like Jason always does - when I needed him the most. I thought it was Max at first, until I heard that voice." Sonny took a drink and swallowed hard. It had been a really long time since anything had shaken him the way it had that day.

"What is going on? Is he, Sonny? Is he…"

"NO!"

"How can you be so sure? He knows things — he keeps saying things he has no way of knowing unless…"

"I know." He'd been racking his brain with the same questions since he got back, not coming up with anything that would explain the morning.

"Then how can you say for certain that's not him?"

"Think about it, Carly - do you believe in your gut that's our friend?"

She took a drink from the neglected glass she held then got up from the sofa nervously, pacing back and forth in utter confusion.

"I don't know what to think! I got the DNA test myself - I was there the whole time and I was the only one, besides the doctor to handle it. It said clear as day he was Jason!"

"Really think, Carly. Would a stranger feel the need to do the things Jason has done for us since he got back? He had _amnesia_ , couldn't stand a bone in my body, yet appeared outta _nowhere_ and saved my life in that warehouse. He showed up for me!"

"But you said this guy just did too."

Shaking his head, Sonny got up and refilled his glass again. "This was different. This felt…rehearsed, somehow."

"What do you mean, _rehearsed_? You think he set you up?"

"I don't know…but I've never seen those two before, have no idea who they worked for. One said something about his father, but I have no clue who his father was. The timing was just a little too perfect, makes this guy look _too_ good."

"What two? Sonny, what exactly happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He told her of his latest close call and set about calming her down when she became alarmed hearing how he almost died again. "Not a scratch, see? Nothing I haven't lived through before. And I didn't get the impression there was something else brewing either. Our biggest problem right now is this new guy trying to impersonate Jason."

Carly sat heavily on the sofa again. "Oh my God, Sonny, I have no idea what to think. When I look at my friend I know him, I _know_ it's him. He moves like Jason, he's good to me like Jason's always been…but then I think about the year he lived among us and _none_ of us recognized him! I see how he's different in so many ways, and then this guy shows up…he looks **_exactly_** like Jason used to look, knows everything about our past and insists that he's Jason - Sonny, what the hell do we do?"

Sonny handed her his glass and took the empty one from her trembling hands. "Here, take another drink." He couldn't blame her - he'd lost count of the number he'd downed since he walked back into the house and he was still feeling uneasy.

Taking the glass from his hand, Carly placed it on the coffee table before her. "I don't want another drink, Sonny - I want answers! If this is really Jason and we deny him - after he's lost so much of his life - he makes his way home and we've already handed it over to a stranger?" She covered closed eyes with both hands as she fell back against the sofa and looked blindly to the ceiling. "Oh, God what is happening?"

"Look, I understand your doubts, I do, but you're missing the bigger picture."

"I am?" She moved her hands down, interest piqued.

"You think you didn't recognize Jason for a whole year, but you did. You had no idea who he was, yet you bonded with this perfect stranger, in the hospital no less, and took him under your wing almost immediately. You told me you were able to talk to him from the very beginning, remember? How many people have you been able to do that with - to just jump right into telling them all about your life, in the middle of a hospital?"

Sitting up, Carly felt her heart leap at the memory Sonny was describing. "They say you can say things to a perfect stranger you'd never say to a friend though."

"Yeah? And the way you looked out for him…gave him a job when he was the world's worse bartender - what was that?"

The smile formed naturally at the memory of tasting _'Jake's'_ first cocktail. "He really was lousy…which makes sense…Jason was never much of a drinker. Beer was always his go to."

"That's right. And don't forget Michael. He did the same thing with Michael - they clicked instantly too."

"But you didn't. He hated you."

"But still came through."

She nodded in deep thought. "That's true - he did. So who do you think this guy is?"

"I don't know…but I gave him a job."

"You did what?"

"He's up to something, and the fastest way to find out what it is, is to keep him real close."

Even though she agreed, Carly couldn't help being worried of the outcome. "I know you know what you're doing but please be careful. He obviously has an agenda - he could be deadly for all we know."

"Oh, I know he is. I saw him in action today."

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"Elizabeth, you should eat something."

Nikolas could not bear to see his friend in the state she was in. She'd been crying for what seemed like days, since the minute she got back from chasing Jason Morgan over to Lucky's. He'd been trying since to get her to eat but she refused every single time. Now was no different, as she shook her head listlessly where she sat in the garden watching the pond and swiping at the constant stream of tears. Taking a seat next to her on the iron bench, he gathered her into his arms and pressed her head to his shoulder.

"You are going to make yourself sick, carrying on like this. You have to take care of yourself, for Jake."

"What's the point, Nikolas? Jake will hate me now - he'll probably hate me forever, after today."

"That's not true. Your boys all love you - they could never hate you. Nobody who knows you could."

"Jason does." The name brought a fresh stream of tears as her heart ripped from her chest. He hated her for certain this time.

"Jason Morgan is an idiot and I keep telling you you're better off without him. Now stop this - you need to pull yourself together - you still have to tell Jake."

"I don't want to." She eased her head from its perch on his shoulder and wiped at her eyes. "He's still recovering from his cold - I don't know why Lucky is insisting on telling him right away. Just so he'll hate me."

"Jake is fine, he's playing with the other boys and Spencer, so he's getting his strength back. Lucky just wants everything out in the open so everybody involved can move past this. You should want that too."

"I don't want to move past it, Nikolas…I want Jason to be Jake's dad. I've always wanted that."

"But he isn't, so stop torturing yourself wishing for something you can't change. That's how you ended up in this mess to begin with."

Chafed at the accusation, she moved fully away from his arms and stood facing him huffily, "It's not my fault my heart wants what it wants."

Nikolas rose to his feet in front of her. "Actually, it is…you've known for a really long time that Jason is in love with my cousin, but you don't seem to care. You purposely set out to be a wedge between them and you're still doing it, despite the fact that it keeps smashing you over the head." When she looked shocked at his words, he felt the usual softening to her and sighed, "Look, I'm not saying this to hurt you - I'm saying you need to take stock and realize how you're constantly sabotaging yourself. You have to stop…it's not doing you any good."

"You're supposed to be _my_ friend - how can you say these things to me?"

"I _am_ your friend, which is why I _can_ say these things and I should've been saying them all along. I'm also Sam's cousin and I happen to care very much about her well being."

"I've known you a helluva lot longer than she has, Nikolas - you can't take her side over mine!"

"I'm not choosing sides. I'm pointing out the obvious, since you refuse to let it sink in, for whatever idiotic reason. You keep setting yourself up for a world of hurt and when it happens you're the one left in pain, can't you see that? Look at what you're doing right now? Do you think Jason or Lucky are somewhere crying their eyes out…or even Sam, for that matter? No, you're the one feeling the worst for it - again!"

Tears kept blinding her and she kept brushing them away. "It's because your cousin won't go away! Jason and I would be so happy right now if she'd just stayed away from him…we'd be married and raising our son in peace."

"You're blaming Sam for Jason not keeping promises built on lies and for Lucky finding out about Jake! Don't you see how asinine that is? Sam is not the reason for every dark cloud that forms over your head, Elizabeth - just like she's not at fault for you lying about Jake's paternity."

"Yes, she is! If she hadn't been buzzing around Jason trying to get him back in her snare I wouldn't have had to lie to him to get him away from her. She knew he'd proposed to me, so she kept badgering him about getting back together. She also knew I couldn't leave Lucky when he needed me, just like she knew I was who Jason really wanted."

Nikolas had heard enough. Turning from her towards the launch, he flashed his hands in exasperation, "You're going to do what you want - you always do. Just don't be surprised when you find out how wrong you've been - hopefully before whatever you do blows up in your face again."

She watched him leave, huffing anew at his dismissal. Whatever! She knew the truth.

"There you are…" Lucky came into view from the back of the house, "they're waiting for us in the library - let's go."

Elizabeth watched his back turn as he returned to the house without waiting to see if she'd follow. She had no choice. She wasn't ready. She'd never be ready to tell Jake the horrible truth…but they would just tell him without her there to soothe the anger he was going to feel towards her. They would just twist everything to make it her fault like they always did. As much as she wasn't ready to face Jason's disapproving look again, she was also anxious to see him.

He was the first person her eyes fell upon on her entrance to the library, the sight of him standing by the fireplace with both hands stuffed inside the front pockets of his jeans, slightly rocking back and forth on his heels in that way he had of controlling anxious energy. Her eyes darted briefly to their son sitting with Lucky on the sofa, poring over the game in his hands, then ripped back over to the fireplace, softening at the sight of the man she loved…then hardening instantly when she realized for the first time he hadn't arrived alone.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Locking eyes on the unwelcome woman, she walked into the room and approached them coldly, "This is about us, Jason - she shouldn't be here."

Jason eased closer to Sam, who instinctively leaned into him in response as he eyed the nurse with distaste. "Who're you to tell my wife where she belongs? Why don't you quit worrying about Sam and focus on why you're about to tear that little boy's heart out for no damn reason?"

Recoiling as though slapped twice in one breath, she clamped her mouth shut and looked over to where Jake had lain the game down at Lucky's request and was intent on something he was saying. The next hour was like an aching blur…from Lucky uttering the hideous words, to Jake's total confusion, to Jason soothing and assuring him he'd always be there if he needed him…she couldn't make herself feel present in that room. It was as if she was outside herself watching it all unfold, even when her son looked to her in tears.

"Mom? Dad is not my dad?"

But she couldn't answer him. Her own tears blinded and numbed her, his words scorching to her ears, sounding farther and farther, echoing over and over. It was happening and she couldn't stop it. They had all ganged up on her to bring her world crashing down and she knew who was at the helm of the plans to unravel her life.

"YOU!" Swinging towards the loathed woman, she scoured her with contempt, "This is all YOUR fault!" The next minute, she was grabbed by the arm and was being dragged unceremoniously through the door and into the adjoining den. **"Let go of me - don't put your filthy hands on me!"** But the grip was vice tight and unyielding until they were behind the closed door in the room, where Sam spun her roughly to face her.

"You selfish, pointless bitch - do you even realize what's happening in that room? This is no longer about you, you fucking pariah! **_Your son_** and two men who love him to death, are **_devastated_** because of you, and all you can do is act like the spoiled, self-serving little rodent you've always been…instead of being sorry or apologetic, instead of showing up as his mother - you want to throw a fucking tantrum in front of him? **_HE'S_** the child!"

"Don't you dare lecture me - none of this would be happening if it wasn't for you!"

Her mouth falling open in shock, Sam took a step back to contemplate the woman in confusion. "Are you serious? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play innocent! Don't play dumb! I wouldn't have had to lie to Jason and Lucky if I didn't have to protect him from you! You're this pestilence that refuses to go away, no matter what I do. I had to lie to the man I love to get him out of your clutches once and for all!"

The hysterical laughter that broke from her throat surprised Sam. She hadn't intended to laugh, there was nothing funny in the least…but this bitch was really batshit crazy!

"You lied to protect them from _me_? And how did that work out for you? Because I remember marrying one and screwing the other senseless on a regular basis before that! I'm still standing, still as rooted as I've ever been, and not going a damn where anytime soon, so how's it working out for you - in your winner's circle on the **_outside_** of everything?"

Elizabeth never felt so much hatred for one human being before in her life. "Keep it up! You'll get what's coming to you soon enough."

The dry laugh sounded once again. "Oh, you mean your pal, Ian? Wait, you weren't his one phonecall after he got his sorry ass kicked and thrown in jail for being _stupid_?" When surprise dawned behind eyes that held more, Sam got the answer to her earlier assumption. "Like I don't know you're the _'friend'_ who advised him I'd enjoy being attacked as foreplay? You are one desperate, psychotic excuse for a woman, and if your son wasn't so traumatized next door right now, I'd use that snippy face of yours to wipe this floor clean! Newsflash lady - it'll take a helluva lot more than one despo ho and a wimpy photographer to impact me or mine!"

"Screw you, Sam! Nobody wants you here, can't you see that? Just leave!"

"No, you have that wrong sweetheart! That I am very much wanted is exactly what you're choking on!" Eyes narrowing, Sam mentally chastised herself for being so silly, softly uttering the thoughts that had tormented her at one point, "I can remember feeling so jealous of you…having Jason's child, his friendship, his love…back then I thought I'd never be able to compete with that…but look at you? It was nothing but smoke and mirrors, orchestrated by a jealous, covetous, envious, relentless, inadequate shrew! Where the **_hell_** did I ever see competition?"

"I did have him! He came running to offer himself to me and I didn't even have to try…that's what was killing you!"

"But you _did_ try! You tried and tried to come between us with your daily trips to the penthouse, to the docks - crying on his shoulder day in and day out about your pathetic life, putting on your feeble little act about planning to raise your children alone - like you have _any_ virtue whatsoever! You tried everything to get him to mount that white horse of his and come galloping to your rescue…bitch, you're _still_ trying right now - and it's _still_ not working! But you won't give up, will you?"

"Why shouldn't I have him - you never deserved him! Just some greedy whore who fucked her mother's husband and half the men in this town!"

"Who you can't get a good night's sleep around because I plague your weak, sorry mind night and day. You're so worried 'bout lil ole me your tear ducts stay overworked and overproducing!" Jeeringly, Sam advanced slowly to send the woman backing away from her. "You think about me so much I bet you can't eat, you can't sleep - you can't even mother your children like a sane person. What's wrong, Lizzy? Losing your marbles again?"

"SHUT UP! Shut your filthy mouth!"

"Or what…why don't you shut it for me?" When she obviously realized the futility in that act and tried to move around Sam instead, Sam grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her back into place, restraining from breaking the feeble thing just to watch her writhe in agony. "Do you have any idea the damage you did? Any clue what Jason and I lost because of you? You weren't so much as a _blip_ on our lives 'til you showed up pregnant, and you knew it! Just like you knew Jason didn't leave me because he didn't love me - it was the exact opposite! But you knew all that! You knew the kind of pain he was in and you just used it to your conniving benefit! Do you have any clue the hell your little stunt put us through?"

She yanked her arm free, Sam's deep grip leaving marks that she rubbed gingerly as she glared at the angry eyes boring through her.

"Why would I care - I was the one meant to carry Jason's baby - not you!"

"Carrying a baby doesn't make you _'forever_ ,' you acid cunt! You could've given him a dozen and you still wouldn't mean a damn thing more to him than you do right now…which isn't very much at all, from where I'm standing!"

When the sting of the truth of Jason's rejection slammed her smack in the chest, Elizabeth swung a slap towards Sam's face, only to have it stopped midair when Sam used a left to block her and a right to fire a punch she didn't see coming. Grabbing her nose to bend over in agonizing pain, she yelped in fright there could be more coming.

 **"Hhhooooaah!"** She pulled her hand away to blood streaming her fingers. **"You bitch! You broke my nose…owowowow!"**

Flashing the fingers of the hand that had just cracked the smug face open, Sam backed up and shook her head. "What am I doing? You're not worth any of this! You call _me_ trash but you're way below me, lady. Pollutive desperation - that's your stench…and you're not worth a second more of my time." She turned to head back towards the other room.

The garbled cry carried across the room, "So help me, Sam, I will get you out of this town if it's the last thing I do!"

Stopping with the door open to look back, all Sam could feel was raw contempt. "Keep coming at me and I promise you it will be!"

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He paced the motel room aimlessly, lost in deep thought, recalling the morning's events in grave detail. His timely arrival on the docks worked perfectly to Sonny's benefit, affording him the chance to give aid when it was so badly needed. The conversation that followed hadn't gone quite as gratefully as he'd hoped but the outcome at least left him in close proximity, where he could show who he truly was. He hadn't expected the doubts and a fight to get back in - had no clue someone else had lain claim and was already living the life he came for - but he wasn't a calm, cool head for nothing. He would think this latest hiccup all the way through. There was a solution, a way to get his wife, his son, his friends away from him and show him up in the process. It was just going to take some doing.


	44. Chapter 44

"Elizabeth! Your nose! Oh, you poor thing!"

The nurse grunted in frustration and swung around to head back to the exam room she'd just vacated, wanting desperately to avoid what she knew that greeting was bringing. Slamming the door shut behind her proved futile as it broke back open and Maxie swept inside to face her standing by the empty bed.

"Leave me alone!" The nurse quickly turned her back to prevent the blonde's gaping of her cotton stuffed nostril.

"I just want to see the damage…hope you know you still have friends…don't know **_where_** exactly, but I'm sure at least one person would care if you bled to death." Her blonde bob moved up and down quickly, her condescendingly mocking tone dripping with feigned concern as she shifted the pocketbook from one arm to the other, "Yes, I'm almost certain of it."

"I should have her arrested. No wonder you two are friends - you're exactly the same type of trash this town would do well without!"

Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Maxie marveled at the gall. "Forever calling someone else trash when you're the one constantly doing the trashiest! Spitting out babies you never know who to pin on, screwing siblings and chasing after people's husbands, then turning your nose up at the rest of us like you're anybody! Always trying to run somebody out of town - when did you get elected Mayor? With so many people hating your guts every corner you slither into, I'd say you're the one who should seriously consider leaving. I'd even help you pack!"

Swinging round in anger, she scoffed at the jabs. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? Well, that's just too bad…I'm not moving an inch away from Jason and my boys." In her head, her anger sounded alot more threatening than the stuffy sound that came out, thanks to all the cotton.

"Funny you mention Jason - you know, Sam's real husband, real father of her child, real love of her life…but not so funny really, since he's all you can ever seem to talk about. How do you even manage to keep your job here? You're never at GH unless Jason is here as a patient or sitting vigil by Sam's bed. Matter of fact, you don't appear anywhere in this town unless Jason Morgan is in close proximity - don't you have any kind of a life outside of **_another_** man who doesn't want you? I lied to Lucky about being pregnant, trying to hold onto him, and you saw how that turned out…but instead of taking heed, you took it and **_ran_** with your own version, all the way through pregnancy, through birth, his supposed death and even his miraculous return! You were planning to run this one for **_life_** , weren't you _Betty?"_

Frustrated and sad from the day, Elizabeth couldn't handle anymore dumping. "Why are you stalking me? Don't you have anything better to do or anyone else to taunt?"

Maxie chuckled then held a forefinger up, "Stalking - now that's an interesting word. It's actually the perfect one I'd use to describe the way you follow Sam and Jason around day and night. You know, like that day they **_blinded_** you in Sam's office!" When the woman turned ashen grey and stricken, Maxie twisted the knife she'd just stuck, "That kinda love is pretty darn powerful, as you saw…tends to rear its head in the least expected places at times…that raw, torrid, unbridled passion that rips the clothes off each other, desperate to express that ravenous, animalistic craving to bang each other's brains out…you know, like you saw Jason expressing all over Sam that day?"

Elizabeth wanted to throw up. She'd been humiliated and disgusted at the sight, but she never realized anybody knew she was there. Of all people to have knowledge of the lowest moment of her life. "You're disgusting! Get out of my way!" She stormed around Maxie, who didn't try to stop her, just grinned wickedly as she watched her tear from the room to get way.

"Nice catching up with you. Let's do it again soon!" The fingers of her right hand waved mockingly to the fast retreating back of the woman racing to the nurse's station. Chuckling out loud to herself, Maxie shook her head and followed from the room to continue on to her annual checkup. Taking jabs and potshots at some deserving people will never get old.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;

Alone on the park bench, Sam watched Danny on the jungle gym off to her left, his rich laughter carrying to where she sat in full appreciation of all she had. Her little boy was healthy and happy, filling her heart with only his smile any moment of any given day…they had a home and family, which alone in itself made them rich in the best possible way. Her son would never know the lonely childhood she'd lived, never know the pitfalls of having only a Cody McCall to pattern his life after, nor the coldness of having to keep his head down as he fought for a place in a miserable world. Thanks to her extended family and to a father that doted and wanted him, a mother who lived everyday for him, her son was set.

Sam wished that Jake could feel the same. He had a strong father who loved him and cared about his welfare, but who battled a very real gypsy complex. Who was to say it wouldn't rear its head again, despite him not wanting it to? But Jake also had extended family that Sam hoped were about to step up and help ease the pain he was going through at the hands of his so-called mother. Unfortunately, one member of that extended family was a grandmother who chose to see nothing but stars when she looked at his mother, always enabling and excusing her selfish choices and patting her on the back when what she really needed was a good kick in the ass. Another was an aunt who could call her out when her whoring ways pit two brothers apart, but pat her on the back when she went after a married man in love with his wife. That poor little boy was up for a rocky road through life.

Sam smiled when she saw Danny leave the jungle gym and started running towards her.

"Hey, babyboy. Tired now?" When he nodded and sagged between her legs to lay his head on her chest, Sam hugged him close. "Okay, let's go home." When he didn't move, she rubbed her cheek atop his head. "What's the matter, kiddo?"

"Mommy, why is Daddy sad?"

She wasn't caught totally offguard. Danny was a very bright, very astute little boy who drank in everything around him. He'd no doubt noticed his father's long absences when he took off on one of his bike rides to be alone with his thoughts and feelings. Sam knew he would've also picked up on Jason's even more silent presence when he was with them the last few days.

"Daddy got some sad news that he's learning to accept."

"Is he going to go away again?"

Lifting her head and his tiny chin so she could meet his eyes, Sam assured her little boy, "No baby. Daddy would never take off on you. Last time he went away it wasn't because he wanted to - he never wanted to leave you and he never would - you believe that, right?" When he nodded in her hand, she continued, "Daddy and I love you more than anything in this world, kiddo!" She dropped a kiss on his head and squeezed him closer. "We're not going anywhere!"

"What kind of news, Mommy?"

Sam was silent for a moment when she wondered if it would be too much, but remembering her promise to always tell her child the truth, she eased him from her arms and patted the bench next to her, pulling him inside the crook of her arm when he sat.

"You remember when Jake came back and I took you over to his house to introduce you to your big brother?"

"Yah."

"Yah - okay." She took a deep breath. "Well, it looks like Mommy was wrong. You and Jake don't have the same daddy afterall."

"We don't?"

"No, baby. You remember my friend Lucky who we saw with Aiden and Cameron at Kelly's?" He nodded again and Sam brushed his golden curls, then scratched softly where her fingers rested, "Lucky is really Jake's daddy too, like he is Aiden's."

"He is?"

"Yes, baby. There was a mistake and everybody thought you and Jake were brothers, but it turns out you're not."

"That's why Daddy is so sad?"

Sam hugged him to her side and rested her chin on his head. "Mhm! Daddy misses Jake, which is why he's going to be a little sad for awhile."

They sat silently for a few minutes, Sam thinking about how fast things can change on a dime without you even seeing it coming. She never thought this was a conversation she'd ever need to have with her child, but remembered a time when she never thought she'd ever have a child to be having one with. Danny's voice broke the silence they sat in.

"Does that mean I don't get to play with Jake anymore?"

"No baby - this doesn't change how you feel about Jake or how he looks out for you. It just means you're not related the way we thought."

"So we can still play monster trucks and video games?"

"Jake's daddy and I are friends, so we can arrange a playdate whenever you want, okay?"

"We'll help him right, Mommy?" He pulled away from her grasp to look up at her. "We'll help Daddy feel better!"

Smiling, she touched his cheek softly, marveling at how quickly he could shift gear, "Yes, we will."

Watching from the far side of the park, he kept to the shadows of the bushes so she wouldn't see him and get angry again. She was so beautiful, holding their baby in her arms. Danny! He'd grown so much…and he'd missed it all! Danny was no longer the happy little baby who was't the least bit scared by all he went through that fateful day - fearless, just like his mother. He may not share any of his own DNA but he loved him just like he did…and hopefully one day soon, his mother would welcome that love for them both.

Watching her with their son only doubled the ache he'd had to hold her since the moment he got back. It had been days and the image that had sustained him, the way he'd dreamed her running into his arms on sight and never leaving, was fading a little more with each passing day that she kept him at more than arm's length. She hadn't aged a bit since he left, had only grown more beautiful with motherhood - just like he knew she would. She was a natural from the start - despite the doubts she'd always used to psyche herself out, thinking she'd be bad at it. She wasn't, and he always knew she wouldn't be.

"You should be more careful - ogling another man's family in public can get you killed - depending on the man."

His spine straightened at the cold voice to his back, and even without turning he knew the man had a gun aimed at his head.

"No harm when that family is the man's doing the ogling."

The click of the chamber confirmed his suspicion and after a silent pause, he turned to meet the barrel he knew was there, in the hand of the man impersonating his life.

"So you're sticking to that story then? You're going to try to convince everyone that you're me?" Jason held the gun in place, weirded out by aiming at his old face but knowing he'd suffer a million times worse to protect the family he'd die for.

"Won't have to try very hard - they'll soon see the truth for themselves."

Jason couldn't decide if he was just a very good actor or if he really believed his own lies, but either way, he would take no chances where Sam and Danny were concerned.

"What makes you think you'll live long enough to try to convince them of anything?" He sounded the words, despite how the visions of burying his own face in the Pine Bearings triggered the kind of nightmares shrinks milk for a lifetime.

"Sam already saw me. If I suddenly disappear again she'll start asking questions - answers to which will shut you down when she's finally ready to accept the truth and find out you did this."

"Yea? What makes you so certain she won't help him get rid of the trash?"

Both men looked to the sudden appearance of Sam to Jason's right as she came to stop with her gaze locked on the newcomer, who's eyes softened at the sight of her.

"Sam. You don't mean that. Deep down you know it's me - I know you do."

"Don't talk to her!" Jason's jaw tightened when he grit the words out.

"Oh, you tell her who she can talk to now?"

Sam ignored the pissing, her frustration growing with the tedious game. "Who are you? Why don't you just tell us what you want so we can get it over with? Nobody here will ever buy your Jason act, so just save us all time and just tell us what this is about!"

The disappointment was acute. He'd been sure she was just hiding from her feelings, that she was just so shocked to see him after all this time that she was burying them and they would no doubt surface real soon. But she was sounding more and more convincing each time he saw her now, and it hurt.

"Sam."

"Yes! Yes, that's my name - we all know my name! Can we get on with it now? Who are you?"

"Jason Morgan. I was always Jason Morgan and Jason Morgan is who I'll always be. Don't know how to be anybody else."

"Except we all know that you have to be, since Jason is standing right before you."

"How can you be so sure? I did some checking - this clown showed up out of nowhere, unrecognizable, couldn't remember you - like I would ever forget you in a million years - and chose somebody else over you. He so clearly isn't me!"

"Clearly!" Sam took another step closer, watching Jason's hand steady with the gun but knowing he was itching to pull the trigger. Placing her hand lightly on his outstretched arm, she pushed so he'd lower the gun. "He's who he says he is. You, on the other hand, nobody has a clue about. We're never going to believe you, so what say we move to plan B…what is it you're after? Money? Notoriety? What can we do you for?"

There was no mistaking the distrust in her eyes. She really didn't believe him, a fact that hurt more than the bullet from the gunfight he'd waged to break free from his captors.

"Sam, I've been held in a prison in Brussels for the past three years!"

"Three? If you were Jason you would've been gone for longer than that!"

"I am, and I was! Before that they held me in a facility pumping me full of drugs daily. When the wound to my back healed, they moved me to a compound where I managed to fight my way out, only to have them corner me in a tiny village outside Waterloo, where all anyone spoke was French and I couldn't understand a damn thing said. I was forced to defend myself when they found me and got sent to prison for killing three of their men in the streets. It took me **_three_** **_years_** to find a way out of that hellhole and onto a boat headed for the states…to make my way home to you!"

Sam couldn't help it - she found herself slightly mesmerized by the picture his words painted, envisioning Jason's face fighting his way out of the situations he described, having no doubt her Jason would've fought just as hard. But her Jason hadn't been the one to have to face any of those things, if indeed they happened.

"You're only proving more and more why you can't be Jason. Other than the fact he's standing right here, it would never have taken Jason three years to break out of a prison, no matter where it was. He wouldn't have gotten caught in the first place."

"I've gone to prison before, Sam."

"Voluntarily…not because they caught him doing anything! But you wouldn't know a thing about that."

"I remember quite well going to prison so I could protect Michael. I hated leaving you then too."

Jason had heard enough. He was just about to raise the gun and pull the trigger this time without caring, when Sam stepped between him and his target. Of course she did. Half the time she knew what he was thinking before he even thought it. Of course she sensed he was at his threshold with the facade.

Sam studied the man facing them as she used a hand behind her to soothe Jason's holding the gun, her eyes narrowing like they did when she contemplated. "That's the most Impressive part of your ruse and the only part that really throws me…how do you know the things you do? Somebody would've had to have actually gotten inside Jason's head to be able to know all that - and we all know that's impossible. So how do you know so much about his life?" She shrugged nonchalantly, "You might as well just tell us…we're going to figure it out…it's what we do." When he still stared at her blankly, she bobbed her head, "I mean literally…we do this for a living!"

Realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with Sam while her guard was around, he relented to take this up another time. He wanted more than anything to get her and Danny away from this man, but if she was't willing to do it yet, he couldn't force her, and it was at least evident that physically harming them was not on his agenda. He would make that suffice for now.

"I hope you give me a chance to prove everything to you, Sam. But I'll leave you alone until you're ready to let me. I'll be waiting, when you're ready to come find me."

Although reluctant, he walked past the big brute and made his way towards the docks. Sonny needed to go over plans for a new shipping route and hated to be kept waiting. Knowing that at least one part of his old life was falling back into place would sustain him for now, and he could use this time to formulate a new plan to get his wife back.

"You should just let me kill him, Sam."

"You're not killing anybody." She wrapped her arms around his waist, contact with him instantly bringing the calm she sought, like it always did, and she softened her look upon his face. "I missed you last night."

Jason could feel the tension leaving him the moment she wrapped him in her love, and as he smiled for the first time in days, he stroked the hair to rest it behind her ear and pulled her fully into his arms. "I missed you too. I'm sorry - I know I have to do better."

She shook her head softly. "Don't apologize. You're hurting - I know how much - and the only thing I wish is that I could help you past it."

His fingers stroked the soft lines of her face as his eyes roved behind them before meeting her brown depths. "You do. Nothing calms me like you." Bending his head to find her, his lips sought solace in the connection that grounded and sustained him. When her soft body relaxed fully into him, Jason enfolded her completely to his chest and devoured her mouth hungrily, his tongue teasing its way home to rest in a lock with her own. Inhaling sharply, he squeezed her tighter when the warmth of her body upon him cried for more of her.

When his heady kiss robbed her of oxygen and left her lightheaded, Sam broke from his firm lips to gasp for much needed air, resting her forehead to his while her eyes stayed closed to the dreamy state she succumbed to in his strong arms.

Jason squeezed her even tighter, allowing her love to wrap him wholly. "Where's Danny?"

"With his aunts. They just met us here to get him for their lunch date." She smiled with her eyes still tightly closed. "I love that he has so many people in his life, Jason. I love that he has the childhood every kid should."

Releasing a sigh where his lips lifted to find her forehead, Jason couldn't ignore the relief that shot all through him.

"You called me, Jason."

Sam finally opened her eyes to find the unusual look of fear behind those of her stalwart warrior. "That's your name. That is, and will always be your name."

His eyes fell involuntarily to the ground between hem. "You don't wonder if he's telling the truth and I'm the imposter?"

"Not for a single second!" She clasped strong jaws between her hands and lifted his face with eyes to meet hers for dire emphasis. "You're you and I don't doubt it at all! I haven't doubted who you are for one second since this debacle started, Jason - not one!" Her thumbs rubbed the goatee he was growing in. "I know you!" Her eyes fell to the side of where the man had left. "What we don't know is who this guy is and what he wants."

Finding his resolve in the face of her own once more, Jason agreed. "You're right - but he did give us a place to start."

Sam smiled as her thoughts fell in line with his. "He did, didn't he?"

"He did. Let's get Spinelli on it. We need to find that prison and that facility he talked about…let him see just how real we take this story of his."


	45. Chapter 45

"Anything?"

Jason laid the uncapped bottle of water next to Sam's laptop, where she typed away at her desk, then bent down so he could see over her shoulder.

"So far the prison break checks out - there was a bulletin in Brussels about it, where they rounded up all the escapees but one, and guess who fits the description?"

As Jason read the page she scrolled through, scanning the dates that matched up to the timeline of the new arrival in town, his gut triggered that spidey sense he was learning again to trust.

"Is there a picture?"

When Sam clicked the link to the next article, he eased back, somewhat surprised to find himself staring at his old face once again. Son of a bitch had been in a Belgium prison, just like he said!

"Oh, wow!" Sam's curiosity grew as she read.

"What?"

"These articles on the conditions in those places - I don't know how he lived like this for so long - listen to this…infested with rats and roaches, overpopulated, no exercise for three days at a time and then only for half an hour…". Sam looked back at him, "This would've driven you crazy! I'm expected to believe it would've taken you _three years_ to break out of _that_ hell?"

His head went up at the words she unknowingly used to give him comfort, her unwavering confidence in him and who he was, the underlining strength he needed to face this latest trial.

"What about the clinic?"

She looked back to the screen and expanded the next window to show him a map of the area. "I ran into a roadblock there - couldn't find a facility anywhere near Waterloo or surrounding towns - at least nothing as discreet as his story implies."

Anxious energy started him pacing slowly behind her, head bowed as his thoughts ran the different possibilities. "I guess if it's that covert they wouldn't exactly advertise for clients on the web."

"Exactly. Which is why Spinelli's using those finely tuned cyber skills to dig a little deeper, as we speak."

He watched her take a sip of water then teased, "You mean there's something you didn't pick up from the Jackal? I thought he taught you everything he knew?"

Her answering smirk transformed her face. "Not even if I spent my _lifetime_ copying his every move…have you seen him in his element lately? He's a living, breathing analytical machine, zipping through back doors and loops to find the _tiniest_ in…he's totally unreal!"

Jason nodded in agreement, then put his thoughts into words, "Okay, so we know he was really in prison in Brussels - at least that part of his story pans out, but…"

He started when Sam cut him off, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, "Wait a minute!"

"What happened?" Taking his place back behind her so he could see the screen again, Jason peered at the article she'd been looking at before, "We already saw that one - what?"

"Something's off."

"What is?"

"I'm not sure." She paused with brows knitting in deep thought. "You know when something is right on the cusp of your brain, or a word is on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't grab it?" She was eying the screen intently, but the answer still evaded her.

When he couldn't see for himself what she thought she was missing, Jason took her by both arms to ease her from the chair.

"Okay. Time to stop looking at it. Walk away…as a matter of fact, let's go home…it'll come to you when you're looking at it with fresh eyes later."

Reluctant at first, Sam gave in to him leading her towards the door, knowing he was probably right, since they'd been at it for hours and everything was starting to meld together in one huge jumble.

"Okay, okay but we can't go home."

"Why not?"

"Your case, remember? He's leaving for three days."

"Now?"

"Yep. You're up, pal! Your turn with the cheating spouse."

Jason sighed and continued moving her to the exit, "Just what I need…more lies to sift through."

"Hey, at least they're not yours this time and not your life they're screwing up!"

Pulling the door closed behind them, he grumbled beneath his breath, "Night's still young," then followed out the building, the unease that took hold since his double showed up, still growing in bounds. Everything they'd found so far just left him with more questions than answers.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Brad stepped inside and stopped in his tracks when the burly guard at the restaurant's inner door turned his way and took a step forward. Holding out the manila envelope nervously, he nodded towards the closed door being guarded. "He's expecting me."

"I know!" When the man stepped aside and jerked his head in invitation for him to open the door, Brad hurriedly did and ducked inside to find his appointment looking up at his entrance.

"Hey Doc - what you got for me?"

Clearing the lump in his throat, he approached the man in the dark suit seated at the desk, leaning back in the oversized leather-bound chair from where he ruled the town.

"Mr. Corinthos-sir, this is highly unethical." He cleared his throat again when the warning bells inside his head reminded him he was addressing **_the_** godfather. "I could get in a lot of trouble for this…I could lose my license."

Rising from the chair to move around the desk, Sonny came to a stop before the tech, eyeing him up and down, taking in the nervous tension that somehow didn't manage to kill the greed behind cagey eyes.

"Only if you get caught." Holding his hand out coolly, he waited for the man to place the envelope in it, then he flipped it open while still holding his stare. "If I thought you were the type to get caught we wouldn't be here."

Brad cleared his throat for the third time, hating the cotton that seemed to have taken up residence the moment he'd neared the waterfront.

"Still - it's - it's pretty dangerous." He watched Sonny remove the piece of paper and read it quickly before turning back to his desk, where he placed it and turned back to Brad.

"But you'd do anything for family, right? Knowing this helps Lucas's sister is the only reason you agreed?"

"Well…yes, of course. Sam is very important to Lucas - and to me too. I just don't see how this affects her in anyway…unless you care to share the det…" The word died on his tongue when the mobster's look was a warning one.

Reaching in his front pocket for a wad, Sonny removed the monogrammed money clip and flipped through the large bills, stopping at five. Looking up at the greedy eyes following his count, he hesitated to hold them out.

"Do I need to repeat the conditions to our little arrangement?" When he got the vigorous shake of the head he expected, he held the bills out, holding tight when Brad attempted to take them, his surprised eyes looking up in fear, "I **_know_** I don't need to repeat the consequences if not kept."

"No, Mr. Corinthos-sir! Not at all!"

"Good!" Releasing the bills, Sonny pushed the remaining ones in his pocket and the jacket back at his waist, before turning back to his desk. "We're done here."

Brad had a million questions that he knew better than to ask, instead tightly palming his profit and hurrying from the office and from the building. When Sonny Corinthos sends one of his goons to visit you at work with a special _'project,'_ you execute without questions or comments - and when he made said goons impart how perfectly top secret said project is to remain, you comply to keep your bones intact.

Jamming the bills inside his pants pocket as he hurried back towards the hospital, Brad grinned that he'd survived the task, and with a nice little bonus to boot. What did he care if some unknown person's medical information was now in the hands of the godfather? As long as it wasn't his or Lucas', and he didn't need to look over his shoulders because he crossed Sonny Corinthos, he was going to sleep like a baby.

Sonny leaned back in the chair and braced his head against the soft Italian leather, closing his eyes in thought on the news he just read. He'd spent his life in a business where anything could change on a dime, even as you relied on certain things staying the same to make it work. He hadn't kept his throne all these years by being stupid…from the very beginning, he'd used his head to get what he wanted. When he arrived in this town to manage a seedy strip joint, he knew that was not going to be his legacy or his life, so he paid keen attention and got in with the people on top who would take him places…then he rid the business of the Joe Scullys and Frank Smiths, whom had the power but didn't know how to wield it effectively. Where they used brute force, he used brain power. Where they stomped like giants, he crept like mice. The outcome? Both shot down and forgotten, while he surrounded himself with good people and built an empire.

The best instinct he'd heeded his whole career was the one to hire Jason Morgan. He'd had misgivings about getting a rich kid from the other side of the tracks involved in his business, when it could bring the wrong kind of heat and attention, but something in the kid had made him gamble on an unexpected outcome. He was volatile and hotheaded, but he was a sponge, with loyalty flowing from every pore. He learned everything Sonny had to teach - about the business, about life, about women - and he taught Sonny quite a few things along the way too. He'd never before been able to count on anyone the way he'd counted on Jason Morgan - at his highest or his lowest - that man had come through like nothing he'd expected, and Sonny was ashamed to say that there were several times during their brotherhood when he hadn't shown the same degree of loyalty, but they were fewer than the times when he had.

The door opened on a simultaneous knock and the product of his thoughts entered, closing it behind him and crossing to the desk, where Sonny sat in thought.

"Hey. Everything go okay?"

The familiar leather jacket crunched when he watched him take a seat in the chair in front of the desk.

"Yeah, shipment landed with no problems. They're sorting it in warehouse fifteen right now. I see you still use the same distribution routes?"

"Same ones - if it isn't broke, right?"

"Right. Didn't know if you'd faced any unusual flareups since I've been gone - enough to have to change things up."

Sonny reached over to the desk from his continued lounging position in the chair and tapped his fingers, going from studying his brother's face to the envelope with the bombshell.

"Naw - we straightened all that out a long time ago, remember?" When a nod followed, he sat up and cleared his throat. "So tell me, now that you've had a chance to look at the Canada situation - any suggestions?"

"Actually, I already took care of it. Somebody forgot to send the Harbormaster his envelope - that was the holdup."

"You remember that?"

"Of course I remember, Sonny. This operation runs as smoothly as it does because of the mechanics set in place - you taught me that a long time ago."

"I remember." Sonny's voice trailed as an old conversation replayed in his mind, one of the very first lessons he'd imparted when they started out. "I remember." He rose from the desk, moving to the cabinet for a drink. "How're things going with Sam? Have you had a chance to talk?"

"No, can't get her away from that bulldog long enough."

Sonny dropped an ice cube in the glass and paused. "Yeah, he's pretty protective." Turning back to the man, he offered one that was refused with the wave of a hand. "But Sam's pretty independent herself…if she wanted to seek you out she would have - believe that."

"I know who Sam is."

Returning to the earlier vacated chair, Sonny took a seat and a sip. "Not saying you don't - just reminding you she doesn't do a damn thing she doesn't want to. Maybe you're gonna have to take a loss on this one." He saw the tightening of the jaw that indicated a hard line was being drawn, and continued purposely. "I'm just saying - he's been very good to her and you're not going to find it easy to come between them."

"I shouldn't have to. How can she not know it's me, Sonny?"

For the first time since his arrival, Sonny could see what appeared to be genuine hurt and fear in the man he was constantly trying to get a good read on, and especially now, after what he'd learned.

"What is it that you really want…more than anything?"

"My life back!" He jumped up from the chair and took several long strides to pace in front of the desk. "I want to not have put my family through years of hell and grief - I want to be able to go home to my wife and my son and to have them know I never left them willingly! I want people to stop looking at me with doubt and know I am who I say I am…I want my damn life back!"

"It's funny…if you had arrived just a few months earlier than you did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. We would've accepted right away you were Jason and no-one would've questioned you twice about it, you know why? Everything was so damn chaotic and turned upside down that the guy himself would've _wanted_ you to take his life! He didn't want any part of it!"

He swung around angrily to face Sonny. "Doesn't that tell you something? Brain injury or not, I'd never turn my back on my family, not after everything we went through!"

"Haah…you did before."

"Sonny - that was different! I thought I was just a violent bastard who killed people on a whim…and you wanted me to take out that Ruiz guy - I didn't want to do it anymore. Besides, what are the chances I'd repeat those same mistakes I made a second time? And I didn't choose anybody over Sam then…I tried to leave town for her sake but I wasn't about to _marry_ anybody else!"

"Give the guy a break - he couldn't remember loving her."

"How convenient!" His chin went up in defense. "So you still believe he's me?"

Gesturing to the vacated chair, Sonny used a calm voice to invite him back there. "Sit down - let's talk."

When Sonny's words made him realize how on edge he'd gotten, he sighed and took the offered chair. "I don't know how much longer I can watch some stranger living my life - I can't just keep leaving him alone with my family."

"He's not going to hurt them…think about it…he's had chance after chance, alone with them long before you came back. If he was going to do anything he'd have done it already." Sonny leant back and continued to study the face before him, looking for the slightest sign of deception. "He loves them - I've seen it."

Gripping the arms of the chair in anger, he ground his teeth to restrain himself again. "That doesn't make it any better. They don't know to be afraid of him."

"Do you honestly believe Sam could be duped that way? That she'd be all in with this guy and not pick up on anything shady about him?"

"Sam's always had good instincts but when she gets emotional it throws them off. He targeted her when she was grieving and alone…"

"She wasn't alone."

"What?"

"Sam was engaged when we found out who he was. She was going to marry Patrick Drake." He kept curiously looking for tells, dropping tidbits he expected to get the strongest reactions.

"Drake? That prettyboy preppie isn't even her type?"

"True…but after what happened to you she wanted a different life for Danny. She found him a family."

He thought about the years she'd had to go on without him there for support and how well she'd obviously done raising Danny, and he couldn't get mad at her when it was his life that led to her having to be a single parent for so long. "She's always wanted that…a family of her own. I always wanted to give it to her." There was a brief silence then his voice picked up softly, "I _need_ to give her that."

" _Need?_ "

"She's everything."

The soft, guttural whisper caught Sonny off guard, filled with so much raw emotion, he had no doubt of the feelings behind the words. But _how?_

He couldn't sit still anymore. The room was closing in and losing air with each passing minute that was robbing him of the one thing he desperately needed. He was half way across the room when he remembered to announce his departure.

"Everything's on target…I'm heading out."

Without waiting for an answer, he bolted from the room leaving Sonny to stare after him in wonder, his gaze falling again to the envelope, losing himself in thought as he rattled over all he'd just learned and where to go with it. Uncovering the truth was one thing…revealing it in a way that did the least damage to everyone concerned was quite another.


	46. Chapter 46

"What are you doing?" She'd woken up cold and alone after falling asleep snug in his arms. The light from the partially open bathroom door told her where he'd gone, so she waited but when she turned again minutes later and he hadn't returned to bed she went looking, finding him in front of the mirror, staring at his shirtless image, his fingers slowly skirting the scar near his clavicle.

Jason met her eyes without turning. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to bed."

Stepping into the bathroom to slip her arms around his middle instead, Sam sleepily pressed the side of her face into his strong back and wrapped him close. This was a back that had carried so much over the years, that stayed strong and supporting for them all, at times when they would've surely fallen without it. "Not without you." With eyes closed she laced her fingers where they palmed his belly, feeling the warmth of his hand that moved to cover hers. "What were you doing?"

"Just…thinking." Looking down to where he clasped her hands holding him, Jason's mind raced with the recollection that this very position, was one of his very first memories of them together that shook the bland world he'd thought he was happy in - and no wonder, when it made him feel this way - securely wrapped in so much love in her tiny arms, where he'd found _real_ happiness.

She rocked him for a slow moment before lifting her head and moving around to face him, searching eyes finding the pain that had been etched in his for days on end.

"Why are you looking at your scars in the middle of the night?"

He attempted what he could feel fail as even a feeble smile, "It's nothing," as he reached for her hand, "Come on - let's go back to bed."

Hesitating, to stop him turning, Sam read what else he hadn't said. "How can you have a single doubt about who you are, when I don't?"

Jason shook his head in wonder. "How do you know what I'm thinking all the time?"

"Not all the time…but I'm right? You're up checking your scars for that reason?" When his blue gaze shifted in silence, she moved her fingers up his arm to rest on the clavicle he'd been studying when she came in. "You got this in Mexico when Jerry Jax tried to ambush you in an old church."

Blue eyes lifted to meet hers, instantly reading her intent to assuage his doubts and questions. " _I_ remember it as the lucky bullet that brought you back into my life."

"I was always in your life."

"But you weren't always in my arms, stupid me! How crazy is it that I'm grateful to Jerry for anything - much less almost killing me?"

Sam smirked and allowed her fingers to make their way to the scar at his breastplate, softly brushing its surface. "This one was a gift from the Feds."

"Reese."

"Reese."

"But this one, is a second favorite." He touched the scar on his right arm and delighted at the light twinkle that appeared in her eyes. "A bullet never hurt so sweet."

Sam eyed him sheepishly, deigning to finally come clean. "I have a confession to make on that one." When his eyebrows raised knowingly, she grinned, "I didn't mean to shoot you but I can't honestly say I was sorry after it happened."

"I knew it - I always knew you enjoyed that!"

She pinched a thumb and forefinger together between them, "Lillebit!"

Grabbing hold of the hand she held up, Jason's smirk was playful, "I kind of had it coming."

"Yah, you kinda did…" She ran down one thigh next, to a familiar mark, reaching to touch it gingerly even though it hadn't hurt in years, then met his eyes again…"but you didn't deserve this one…trying to protect me."

His gaze followed hers back to the scar on his thigh. "Ric and the PCPD!"

Sam nodded as the memory raced between them. "He was a nasty little suckup gangster wannabe, that one!" She was awed uttering her next thought, "Shows how funny life can be…that he turned out to father my baby sister is unreal to me. It's unbelievable that someone as kind and sweet as Molly could come from _Ric Lansing!"_

"I'd take a hundred bullets for you though."

When he backed her to the sink and pressed her there, both arms resting against the marbled surface to lock her in place, the mischievous smile spread through her, "You probably have more than that in this gorgeous body already." Leaning in, she brushed a scar on his chest with a light kiss, bracing palms flat to the hardness on either side of it, "Some people collect tattoos - you, my love, collect bullets!"

An involuntary squeal escaped her when she was suddenly hoisted and deposited on the counter, instinctively wrapping him with her legs to pull him fully against her, gasping in pleasure when her middle found his rock hard member and rubbed suggestively as her arms circled his neck already in descent.

His claim of her soft lips muffled his inhaled breath, instantly crashing past the opening in search of her tongue on its way to meet him, one hand reaching behind him to where toned legs met at her ankles, his eager fingers burning a trail back to the hem of his teeshirt to send it up her body and over her head. His heated gaze fell to gorgeous breasts that eased back down with her lowered arms, drawing his head to dip in search of nipple.

Sam moaned and ground against his hardness, clasping his bent head to hold him in place at worship on one breast and then the other, his flicking, stroking tongue guiding a hot mouth to send tingles through her.

"Mhm! Jason…"

Molting blue eyes lifted to meet hers, his breathing irregular, when he asked, "Say that again?"

Eagerly pushing at the waist of the black boxers hanging low on his hips, Sam drank in the chiseled man before her lustily. "Jason! You're _my_ Jason!" Her neck craned in search of his lips making their descent to hers, "Make love to me, Jason!"

The sound of his name falling sweet from the love of his life in the way only she echoed, was swallowed by his tongue ramming her throat as he helped her rid the boxers from his hips and legs, midlift her being fully scooped from the surface of the sink, her big breasts squished to his chest in heated desire.

Woozy and adrift from his dizzying kiss, Sam gripped his shoulders tightly and drank from his lips, then moaned out loud when thick steel dove into her, grating tight walls and filling her fully. Wanting even more, she stabbed into his thrusts to take him all the way, breaking from his lips to cry out in sweet agony when girth and length washed everywhere inside her.

"Aaoohh…Jaaa…"

Sounds of her pleasure bathed his ears and stoked the need to please her more, guiding him to rest her ass at the very edge of the sink, where he held her knees wide and drove into her over and over and over, drowning her raptured cries with his tongue, soon breaking from lips to nip at her chin when his own pleasure tore from his groin to send wicked sensations spiraling to his brain. Needing to claim all - _every inch of her_ \- he moved with a fever that sent his throbbing rod in and out of her sweet, juicy pussy, fueled by the grip that held him so tight.

"You're mine, Sam! You're mine!" Jason had often found a caveman urge to claim her in their most intimate moments when the need to know she'd share this raw, unlatched passion with him and him alone - but never more than he did right now…the threat to this sacred place he'd found in her heart, in her arms, in her bed…he would kill before he ever shared her with another. The fever burned his brain, escalating to send him firing long strokes into her, branding himself at the very center where she lived, the need to possess every part of her feeling parallel and sacrament to the air he needed to live. **_"You're mine!"_**

An uncontrollable tremor reared and burst Sam wide open, molten lava that built in the bottom of her belly suddenly boiling over to send her spasming against his thrusts, the buildup shattering into a million pieces when he slammed the explosion all through her.

"Aaahhh….aahhh…aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

When his own release synced with hers, he lulled her in the sweet storm that slowly abated and she whimpered down limply, where he swooped her up again, moving them to the bedroom to lay gently in the middle of the bed with her still wrapped around his middle. Stroking his face where he joined her on the pillow, she gave him the reassurance her brain had been too fevered to, minutes before.

"Who else's could I ever be?"

But Jason knew he'd been the idiot who almost let her go more than once…and with this new threat in town, "Don't leave me, Sam."

"What are you talking about? We take care of each other, Jason - we always have."

"I haven't always taken care of you when I should have. I allowed other people to hurt you…" His voice trailed into a pained whisper, "… _I_ hurt you."

"We've covered this…we hurt each other, and we've both learned not to let it happen again. Isn't that what's important?"

His eyes bore through, pulling her into their tortured depths. "It was just all so unnecessary, Sam. I could probably forgive if it was just me…but I'll never forgive that she hurt you too…and I helped her. I'm so sorry."

"You've said that. You couldn't know she'd lie about something that important."

"That's no excuse. I spent my life learning to tell when people were lying - it's a skill that kept me alive for a long time. I should've seen it. I should've known what she was doing."

The haunted look plagued eyes not long before filled only with desire. "How? You've been friends for years, and she's someone you've always been able to trust. I saw almost immediately that you cared alot about her, and it's one of the things I've always respected about you, Jason - you're loyal to your friends. She was one of them, long before I came along, so I got it. Of course you wouldn't expect that kind of betrayal!"

"You and Carly did. You never trusted her."

"That's different…Carly and I never invested anything in her…we had no reason to trust her. Still, I never suspected her of lying - not about that. About being just your friend - yes - Carly opened my eyes a long time ago to the fact that she wanted a helluva lot more than that with you and was just waiting for the chance to _take_ it..but I never thought she lied about Jake. And I didn't care about her like you do."

"Did."

"If you say so."

"You don't believe me?"

"If you say it, I believe it."

He knew she wasn't convinced and something deep in him _needed_ her to be. "Sam, she hurt you! _On purpose!_ I always thought Jake happened because he was supposed to, and that you can't change things, so it was pointless to wish they were different…that you just had to roll with whatever cards life dealt and make the best of them. I never expected her to be the mother of my child - you know that, but it happened that way so I went along. But it was all false! It wasn't natural or fated, and it certainly isn't _anything_ like it is with _you_."

"Really?" When the skepticism dripped sarcastically from her words, Sam sighed, "Honestly, Jason, you don't realize how you've always treated her - like she's made out of glass and everybody else is teflon. You've _always_ protected her, even though she's done horrible shit too. Don't see why that would change now."

He was silent for a moment as he allowed her words to sink in, the shame that clothed them opening his eyes even more to her hurt. This remarkable woman has had to endure so much just to love him and she didn't even know how he truly saw her. "You've always been strong, Sam…I don't know where you keep it all but you have a power in you that she'll never have, and you've never needed me to reach it - I knew that from the beginning. Look at everything you survived before me _and_ since? She would've never survived your life. Not many would…but you did!"

"She's not as fragile as you think either. She just never let _you_ see the ugly side of her. You always think she's such an _angel_."

"She's no angel, I know that. If anything, I thought I needed to be that strength that she could count on because I owed her for saving my life and she's often been good to me."

"Like I said, you trusted her."

His eyes searched hers where her head rested next to him, drinking in the effortless beauty with the soul of an Amazon. "I trust you a helluva lot more."

"So now because she's disappointed you in the worse way, you've come to these wondrous revelations? Do you realize how much time we spend on the subject of her? When did she become so paramount in our lives? Why did we let her?"

"You mean why did _I?_ No, you're right - it was me." He rolled onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling, regrets eating him up inside. "It was Jake. I thought he would be a lifetime bond between us. Kids usually are."

"It wasn't always Jake. When you found out who you were, you stayed with her. You chose her..that was you."

Vehemently shaking his head, Jason rolled back to face her, needing to make sure she understood, "It wasn't her - not the way you think."

It was Sam's turn to roll to her back in exasperation. "We both know that you loved her, so don't deny it now because she made you feel stupid for doing it."

"I loved her when I didn't know us - I admit that. But I told you, Sam…I stayed for those boys. They needed me - Jake most of all. He'd been through hell…ripped from his life for years then dropped back into it and expected to pick up where he left off. He'd just learned to start trusting in us as a family and I never thought I would wake up one day and not be his biological father."

"Me neither." She softened, relenting to the empathy washing over her. "I'm sorry for the pain you're feeling."

"I know. I'm sorry too."

"You don't have to keep apologizing to me."

Using gentle fingers, he deftly urged her chin so she would face him again, needing his words to connect where they hadn't seemed to earlier, "I can't promise you that. I'll be sorry 'til the day I die for the way I hurt you, and I'll look for ways to make it up 'til my last breath."

Sighing, Sam allowed years of strain to expel on the exhaled breath. "I don't need that, Jason. I don't need you to promise me a life of servitude for things we already forgave. For one, it will never be necessary between us, and two - _she's_ definitely not worth all that."

"It's not about her. Nothing that happens between you and me is ever about her - never has been and never will be. It's about how much I love you unlike anything I've ever experienced or knew existed, and how much I need for you to know it! I don't have a life if you're not in it, Sam, and the fact that I almost let you get away again sickens me to my stomach! I can't lose you and Danny!"

"Our son and I are't going anywhere without you!"

Her soft words were a balm his heart desperately needed. He could face anything that came their way…anything…except losing Sam again.

"I might need you to keep telling me that."

"I'll be happy to - whenever you want."

"We've been talking alot about the past…can we start making some plans for the future?"

Her heart skipped a beat at his soft suggestion, making Sam aware that she wanted that too. "What about it?"

Inching across the pillow, he kissed her lips gently, lingeringly taking his time to treasure their softness, teasing top, bottom, then top again, back to bottom, touching the tip of his tongue to hers, before pulling his face back to see her eyes reopen slowly, dreamily awash with the same dazed feelings ruling his own head. "I love you. I've wasted alot of time that we'll never get back and I don't want to add one more minute to that count. I don't want to pressure you before you're ready but I want you to know that I'm there, Sam. I'm ready for forever…whenever you are."

She looked over his shoulder at the grey streaming in, weighing his words by the racing set off in her pulse and the airiness wafting her head, and she knew she wasn't ready for that discussion. He was going through an emotional upheaval - it was not the time to make lifelong decisions. "It'll be daylight soon."

"Do you want me to leave?" He relaxed when she shook her head no, noticing her skilled diversion from the subject he'd raised. She wasn't ready. She probably thought he wasn't ready either but she couldn't be more wrong. He'd wanted to have that discussion since their magical New Year's reconnection, but knew better than to spook her that soon. He could wait a while longer. He could wait forever…for _her!_

"This could get me kicked out, but whatever happened to not wanting to confuse Danny by letting me spend the night?"

Relieved he wasn't going to press the issue, Sam smiled at his question that followed her lead. "I don't know…it seemed silly after I saw how much he loves having you here. Don't think I don't notice that he'll walk right by me to head straight for your arms."

"He does? That's my boy!" The smirk grew slowly. "Are you jealous?"

Her finger traced their way across his lips and tingled at the soft peck he planted against them, "I would be, if he hadn't lost so much time with you. It's like he's making it up…and I totally get it." Her voice was rued with wonder and appreciation, "I know firsthand what he was missing out on, not having you here."

"I'll never not regret that, Sam…my son's firsts…all of them - lost to me."

"Not all. You'll be here for the others, like his first crush, his first dance, high school, his first muscle car - cause you can see he's already fearless…" She smiled and pinched his bare chest playfully, "…there's still so much to look forward to with our baby." She raised herself on an elbow, "Besides, you have the video of his first steps and his first day at preschool. Not the exact same as being there, but they're still pretty special."

His hand lifted to caress her cheek as he studied her beautiful smile lighting already sparkling brown eyes thoughtfully, loving her more than they made words to express. " _You're_ pretty damn special!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

He couldn't sleep. When the walls of the motel room started closing in, he gave up trying and made his way to the docks, the coolness of the morning being his only companion on the predawn streets of the still sleeping town. Thoughts of his wife plagued him constantly…the things about her that he missed more than anything, longed for achingly, that she was right that minute sharing with another man. That she would not believe it was him had not even occurred to him before it happened, and being without her now, in a place that was supposed to feel like his return home but that remained elusive, was killing him inside.

He walked the docks, nodding occasionally in passing to workers at their trade, beating his mind to find a solution that would get him back home. He needed to prove himself to her, but how? There was no gesture, there were no words it seemed that would break the brazen barrier standing between them in the form of someone who looked nothing like him - except for eyes and hair that could easily be manufactured. That he had obviously fooled them all so completely was unbelievably painful to behold.

At least Sonny hadn't completely turned him away. He knew there were still doubts there but he at least seemed willing to stay open to the possibility he was who he said he was. He needed something that would convince them all finally, but what?

Hours passed and the sky lightened into day, bringing with it a form he hadn't seen in years and welcome to the sore eyes of a friend. She alighted from the launch and he remembered years of friendship that could've once been more…but for his sweet Sam. Awed and pleased at the sight of her, he stood his ground to await her passing near.

Elizabeth was on her way to her seven a.m. shift at the hospital. Having lost everything else in her life, her job was the one thing she could still call her own and she'd make an effort to keep it, despite wanting to bury herself in bed for the rest of her days. Keeping to her familiar route from Spoon Island, she turned for the stairs to head up the docks, but was stopped by a familiar voice that set her heart racing.

"Elizabeth!"

Her face breaking into a smile at the friendly sound of her name upon his lips, she looked to the man who'd obviously forgiven her from the sound of it, freezing in place when her eyes met a face her mind was obviously disjointing.

"Elizabeth…hi!" When her mouth fell open and no sound came from her he realized how he'd shocked her, two seconds before her eyes rolled in her head and her body heaped towards the ground. Racing to grab her before she hit, he swung her into his arms and seated her on the nearby bench. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

When there was no response, he swung her into his arms again and took the dock steps two at a time. He'd completely forgotten how his sudden appearance would affect some people.

She awoke at the hospital with Amy passing something beneath her nose that she pushed away groggily and tried to sit up.

"Easy, there - not so fast, you'll faint again!"

"Faint?" She wrinkled her forehead in thought. "I fainted?"

"Yes - your friend brought you in."

"What friend?" Then she remembered the face that had sent her falling! "Jason!" Hastily raising herself into a sitting position to get up, she grabbed onto Amy to steady the wooziness. "Where is he? I really saw him?"

"Take it easy, will you? He's in the waiting area - why? What's the big deal with this guy?"

"I'm guessing it's the way he looks?" Patrick Drake walked into the cubicle and took the iPad from Amy, who allowed Elizabeth to stand holding onto her for support.

"Patrick! You saw him? I really saw…"

"A guy with Jason Morgan's old face? Yes, you did. Just what this town needs - one more of _him!"_

"Patrick - who _is_ he?" She was staring desperately at the surgeon who was still studying the iPad in his hands.

"I don't know and I don't care. He's probably the real deal and the murdering punk you all are still fighting over after all these years. Which means you all were duped by an imposter, and my fiancé most of all, because she threw our life away for nothing!"

"I have to see him!" Letting go of Amy unsteadily, Elizabeth straightened up to slowly make her way from the room, ignoring the surgeon's bitter diatribe as she went in search of her miracle, whom she found slowly pacing the corridor near the nurses station. When he turned and their eyes locked, she thought she'd faint again, but managed to hold it off this time.

"Jason?"

Drawing closer quickly, he held his arm out to offer support.

"Elizabeth - are you okay?" Guiding her to the nearby chairs, he helped ease her down gently. "Easy."

"Jason…is it really you?"

Thank goodness! One person knew him on sight! One person was finally in his corner!

"Yes." He sat in the chair next to her, taking the hand that reached towards his face. "Yes, it's me."

"But…but how? You're already here?"

He shook his head, never leaving her eyes. "No. I don't know who that guy is or how he managed to fool everybody, but he's certainly not me." When she touched his face he allowed her fingers to linger as he reveled in the eyes of a friend.

"Oh, thank God! I should've known! Jason, you would never turn your back on me like that…I should've known that he wasn't you!"

"Of course I would never turn my back on you." He had no idea what she was talking about but he knew he could never find a single fault with Elizabeth Webber. If not for his undying love for Sam, he could have settled for a life with her once. As it was, she was a close friend he'd always look out for.

Gasping between sobs, she grinned and palmed his face between her hands. "Jason! You came back to me!" Then she threw her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. "You came back!"


	47. Chapter 47

"Sammy!" Patrick Drake dropped himself uninvited to the empty chair at Sam's table outside Kelly's, grinning when she looked up from the laptop and placed the coffee down. "I hear the gangster you left me for isn't who you thought he was…now imagine that!"

Giving him a cool once over, Sam looked back to her screen with the casefile she'd been studying. "Hello, Patrick."

"Hello? That's it?"

She clicked to the next page and addressed him without looking over. "I'm really busy at the moment, so if you have something to say, do it and let's both get on with our day." Reaching to her left to pat Captain's head where he laid at her feet on the terrace of the diner, she softly calmed his rising growl. "Down, boy."

"Don't tell me you haven't seen him yet?" Patrick looked from her nonchalant stature to the dog, who's head stayed perked as he continued to eye him suspiciously. "And when did you get a dog?"

"I have many things these days that are none of your business. Are we done?"

"Sammy, you don't plan to stay hostile with me forever, do you? We used to be really great friends…and I'm guessing you'll need that again when you see who I just saw at the hospital."

"You're right - we were friends once, and the mistake we made was ever trying to take it beyond that."

"Oh, come on - you don't mean that?"

"Of course I mean it. We ruined a perfectly good friendship because we were lonely and tried to make it into something it wasn't." She leaned back in the chair, studying him thoughtfully, "But that's the past…we don't need to stir it up every time we see each other. We're both good now."

"Oh, I think you're going to need me again pretty darn soon, and you know something, despite how you walked out on us, Sammy, I'm going to be that bigger shoulder for you to cry on."

"Cry? Why on earth would I need to do that?"

Patrick sat up eagerly, clasping his hands on the table before him. "I just saw your husband at the hospital with Elizabeth in his arms! Not the phony you left me for - the real thing!" When she didn't look the least bit surprised he continued, "I'm serious, Sammy. Jason - _the real Jason -_ is at the hospital _right now!_ The guy you left me for is a fake!"

Smiling coyly, Sam reached down to pat Captain again, stroking between his ears and down his back until he put his head down in relaxation. "I hate to break it to you, but I already have the _real Jason."_ She chuckled out loud. "Believe you me - he is the _only_ Jason!" She chuckled again in remembrance of their earlier parting at the penthouse. "Everything about him!"

"Sammy, I'm serious. Jason's…" he trailed off and gestured behind her, "…see for yourself!"

Sam didn't turn around, instead clicked to the next page of her file and tried to get back to her research.

"Sam!"

Looking up at the sounding of her name, she met the blue gaze from their previous encounters, with his new shadow immediately behind, coming around to face her.

"You again!" She addressed him cooly then went back to her casefile. "I see you're slowly reeling them in…still trying to convince people you're Jason."

"Trying?" Elizabeth looked startlingly from Jason to the brunette acting nonchalant in face of the shock she'd just had. "What are you talking about - are you blind? He doesn't need to convince anybody of anything…this is Jason! I knew him the moment I saw him and if you loved him like you pretend to, you would too!"

Laughing out loud, Sam braced her hands on both arms of the chair and sat back in amusement. "I should've known! Of course you'd latch yourself onto him instantly…thinking you _finally_ get a Jason of your very own?" Her laughter echoed to her head going back in mirth. "Oh, this is rich!"

"Go ahead - laugh! You bet on the wrong horse…all this time going on and on about how great your love for Jason is and _you're_ the love of his life…when you can't even tell him from an imposter."

Still laughing, Sam gasped out, "And you're suddenly over your undying love for the guy you couldn't live without yesterday, just like that? One look alike popup and you're on to the next?" She couldn't stop the laughter from coming if she tried.

"Laugh all you want - if you knew Jason like I do…if you loved him half as much as me, you'd know him instantly, like I did!"

"Elizabeth…" he touched her arm, his eyes locked on Sam's, but she flashed him off.

"No, Jason…she needs to hear this!" She glared angrily at Sam, "You couldn't wait to take him from me, and I should've known when he could just up and leave like that, he wasn't Jason, because Jason would _never_ hurt me that way. Never. But you thought you finally took him away from me, didn't you? Hahahaha…well the joke's on you, again!"

Rising to her feet as the laughter slowly ebbed, Sam closed the laptop and eased it inside its bag. "I can see I'm not going to get anything else done here this morning." She pulled the strap across her shoulder and tapped her leg for Captain, who was circling the suddenly busy table widely. "I'm glad you get what you want, princess…enjoy that!" When Captain joined her side she bustled past Patrick, who'd risen to his feet when she did. "See ya, Doc!"

Feeling all eyes marveled on her as she left with dog in line, Sam smiled then chuckled to herself. Who else could so easily be fooled by a face? Someone desperate to cling what she can't have any other way is who that bitch was always going to be. Shouting over her shoulder as she turned the corner, she left a parting, "Don't forget to tell him how he's not really Jake's fake dad!" The vibrating phone in her back pocket drew her attention as Captain dashed off in front of her to the SUV.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself, gorgeous! Where are you?"

"On my way to the office. What's up?"

"Well, I followed Maxwell to the airport - thought I'd need to jump on a flight to Cleveland like his wife thought he was headed."

"Yaw?"

"He didn't get on the plane. Checked into the airport Hilton, instead. He was alone, but I was stopped by security when I tried to follow him up the elevator so I don't know if he was meeting someone already there."

"No worries. Head to the back entrance and ask for Julio. He'll get you in. I'll text him when I get off with you." She climbed into the SUV and started the engine, cracking the windows so Captain could stick his head out.

"Sam Morgan, is there anybody you don't know?"

"Only your new twin. Guess who's his new champion?"

Jason's jaw tightened at the mention of the impersonator. "Did he show up at the penthouse again - I'm gonna fucking kill that guy!"

"No, he turned up at Kelly's and I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but your ex-babymama has moved on. She found herself her very own you!" She was laughing again, unable to stem the mirth the images stirred up.

"Sam…"

"What - it's a little bit funny, right?" She waned on a giggle as she pictured the woman's enamored face from moments before. "No? Too soon?"

"Stay away from that guy, Sam. We still don't know what he wants…well, he wants _you_ \- we know that - but we don't know how dangerous he is. Promise me you'll stay away from him until we sort this out."

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one seeking him out, so don't blame me he keeps showing up. Besides…," she chuckled again, "…something tells me he's going to be pretty busy from now on, with his very own toxic nurse at the hip."

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!"

"Listen to you! One would never know there was a time you were crazy about that!" The teasing was pouring from her in droves, amusement running high.

"I was never crazy about anybody but you! Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What'd you know?"

The soft question made her warm and fuzzy all over. "You love me!"

"Damn right!"

She turned at the light as the phone went dead, the smile widening when she thought about seeing him later that day. Damn right, was right back at him!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"She really doesn't know it's you?" Elizabeth was still standing in the spot, having watched the SUV pull away from the parking lot with the woman who'd gotten on her phone and left without so much as a backward glance in their direction, robbing her of the triumph she'd thought to revel in upon her finding out she'd stolen the wrong Jason Morgan. Stricken, she turned to the man who was still watching where the brunette was long gone, the look on his face a familiar one she'd seen plenty where the woman was concerned.

"She's having a hard time accepting that she's been lied to this past year." He moved to the edge of the terrace and stared off into nowhere, oblivious to the doctor waving to Elizabeth as he left them to enter the diner, and Elizabeth walking up behind him.

"Stop doing that, Jason…stop making excuses for her…you do it all the time."

"She's my wife."

"You were having problems when you disappeared…and you and I were growing close again. Don't you remember?"

He turned to face her, seeing for the first time the teenage wonder and the hunger in her eyes, and he remembered Sam's taunting words from earlier.

"Elizabeth, I don't want you to misunderstand…it's wonderful to see you and we will always be friends - always! But Sam is my wife! We have a son together and I want her back! I want them both back!"

She took an angry step away from him, her hands swinging to stab the hair back from her face. "Not this shit again!" Antsy, she stormed back angrily to where he watched her in surprise, "She doesn't love you! Didn't you hear her a minute ago - she chose a _stranger_ over you! When are you going to see her for what she really is and allow us the chance to get back what we had?"

"What we had?" Surprise smacked him over the head at her behavior, "What we had is in the distant past - such as it even was. I'm married to Sam and you know how I feel about her, so what are you talking about?"

When the fever that shot to her brain sent her hand shooting to connect the side of his face, she recoiled in horror, but anger growing still.

"What is the matter with you? Day after day, I've been standing in front of you, begging you to see me, to love me, and you won't! Why can't you forget that tramp and get back to us? She's nobody!" She gestured jauntily between them, "You and I have been dancing around each other for **_eeeeighteen damn years_** , and you still won't give us a chance - what the hell else do you want me to do?"

Rubbing his jaw in surprise, he watched her come unhinged and allowed her words to sink in.

"You can calm down. I don't understand - where did I mislead you? You've known all along that I'm in love with my wife and I want her back…when did I ever lead you to believe anything else?"

" _W-h-enn?_ "Are you serious?" The stupid, lost look on his face made her want to slap him again. "What the hell do you mean, _when?_ How about when you slept with me when you were supposedly so in love with her…or when you proposed to me after you got back together? How about every longing look you send me when I'm with someone else…or the way you always make time for me or give me everything I need? When **_haven't_** you led me to believe you love **_me_** , Jason?" She knew she was shrieking but the increasingly ridiculous look on his face just sent her voice higher with each sentence. **_"WHEN?"_**

 _"_ _When I told you repeatedly that you and I cannot be together!"_ He couldn't believe the state she'd worked herself into and despite not wanting to risk her getting crazier, he knew he needed to set the record straight, for all their sakes. " _When_ I promised you I'd always be there and I was because we're _friends_ … _when_ I married the love of my life and had a child with her… _when_ you saw us leave the hospital together to take our son home - _together!"_

 ** _"_** ** _After you'd forgiven me for lying about his maternity, just like that!_** I'd just confessed how I tried to keep you from them, and you didn't bat an eye to forgive me instantly…again! Like you always do!" She took a hurried step to close the space between them and grab his hand, "Do you know what you would've done if the roles were reversed and she'd been the one to keep my child from me, out of spite? You would have cut her off at the knees, Jason! You would've never forgiven her as easily as you did me - you never do! And she knows! Damn, everybody knows!"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you love me…so much that you will forgive me **_anything_** \- and you have! You _always_ have!" She pulled jerkily on the hand she grasped for dear life, "When I chose Zander and Lucky - when I turned my back and Jake got kidnapped - when Cameron set fire to the house with Jake locked in it - when he ran away from me at the carnival and got trapped under debris from Edward's accident - when I left the door unlocked and he wandered from the house into the street to get run over…all on my watch…you always, always forgive me and hold me blameless! **_You don't do that for her!"_**

His chin raised, watching her animated state and realizing that she really believed her own misconceptions. "Oh no?"

" **NO!** You call Sam out on every mistake, every evil shit she's ever done! Even Carly - your so called best friend - you will lay into her for the stupid crap she pulls constantly - but you love me too much to ever blame me when I make a mistake. You look out for me more than you do anyone else - you always have. How can you still not see how we belong together?"

"If that's how you see us, Elizabeth, you have blinders on…and that's obviously on me."

She stepped back, hurt and appalled. "You don't mean that!"

"I'm not in love with you. I've always looked out for you because you're my friend…you were my sister's best friend. You needed my help all the time so I gave it…I never knew it made you see yourself above Sam in my eyes?" He cold feel the incredulity transform his face as he'd watched her unravel, her unbelievable utterings, pointless and untrue in so many ways to Sunday. "I would take a bullet for anyone I care about…but I'm so in love with my wife I can't see straight! How can you possibly be blind to how she's _everything_ to me?"

She was moving further back, her head shaking to rid it of the awful, awful things he was saying to hurt her. "No! You don't mean it!"

He neared, where she backed. "I do…and I need you to listen. All those things you're talking about - I would do for any one of my friends. Sam and Carly are strong and fearless and are excellent at taking care of themselves…you, on the other hand, always needed somebody to take care of you - that's why I've always treated you gently, and if I've been hard on them at times it's only because they can take it - you can't! It's definitely not how you think!"

Her lips trembled with the force of the tears that struck up. "No! You love me - I know you love me!"

"You're the mother of my son - of course I love you - but not like that. Not in the unbelievable way that I _love_ …that I _worship_ my wife! I'm not in love with you."

 ** _"_** ** _Jake is not your son!"_** When the hurt of his cruel words stabbed at her already broken heart, she needed to return the favor twofold! "He's Lucky's…I just told you that to get you where I wanted you…and it worked! All these years, it's worked better than I could've imagined!"

"Elizabeth…"

"I'm serious! Jake isn't your son! That's what your tart meant by her ' _fake daddy'_ comment earlier…you are not Jakey's father!"

Thinking at first she was just throwing words to hurt him like she perceived he just hurt her, he was about to brush it off when he recalled Sam's parting words. He'd wondered at the time what she meant by them, but then Elizabeth had startled him with her ridiculous revelations and they'd been forgotten.

"What are you talking about?"

Finally, she had him where she could twist the knife the way he'd twisted her insides. "Just what I said. Lucky is the only father Jake's ever had. When you gave him up so _nobly_ , you had no idea you were just putting him back into the arms of his rightful father, and I needed you to think exactly what you did - that you were letting another man raise your son."

They weren't just words. He could tell from the cold glint in her eyes they were laced with angry truth, poisoned for his benefit, but truthful nonetheless, effectively ripping his heart from the center outward.

"Why? Why would you do something like that?"

"Why do you think? So that bitch couldn't have you - that's why! So you would forever feel beholden to me and my child, why else?"

He'd asked but he hadn't really believed she'd done something so vile, on purpose, until her words confirmed it. A long stride brought him instantly within an inch of her face, redhot heat burning his lungs and sending fire through his veins.

"You meant to do this? You lied just to destroy my life?" The sudden fear in her eyes didn't alarm him this time to how much he was scaring her. "You wanted to hurt Sam, is that it? You lied because you wanted to destroy the best thing I had in my life?"

Rethinking her earlier stance of goading a knowingly angry bull, Elizabeth took frightened steps away from the fury and reclaimed her damsel mask. "You had _me!_ You had good things in your life that didn't include her, but you acted like she hung the moon. Why did she get to have you, to have your devotion and your love, when I'd been here waiting all that time? It wasn't fair!"

"Waiting? Why did she get to have me? I don't know, Elizabeth - because we loved each other? You have no idea how much Sam has done for me, how she fought for me, how hard she loved me? Your idea of waiting was to turn to any man who showed the slightest interest, who was next in line to take care of you. Don't talk about Sam like you know her…you don't know the first thing about her!"

"I know she's a lying whore who'll…" The words drowned in her throat when he closed the gap rapidly, the snort from his nostrils slapping her face this time when she was too frightened to move an inch or utter another word.

"Go ahead - call her _one_ more name! Go ahead!" When the stench of fear whiffed his nostrils and his eyes caught the cowering he infused, he realized he was bullying a tiny, injured, fearful creature who continually bit off more than she could chew and would forever require somebody else's help. This hurt, forever wounded little animal warranted pity, not animosity, so when she could do nothing but widen big doe eyes and gape at him in terror, he reeled himself in and turned from her without another syllable, leaving her behind for good this time, bidding good riddance to bad rubbish!


	48. Chapter 48

Jason stepped off the elevator at the MetroCourt restaurant, where he was meeting Sam for lunch, grumpy and annoyed from lack of sleep and just an all around irritation with how slow his investigation was moving.

"I know that look!" Carly entered the room from the kitchen, pausing to lay the tray she carried on the bar before making her way to the table he sat down at, resting her hands on her hips as she stopped in front of him. "Who is it this time?"

"Who is what?" Passing a harsh hand across his face, Jason sniffled then looked up at his friend, who knew his moods well.

"The fool who made you angry."

"I'm not angry - I'm tired - there's a difference."

"If you say so." She eased into the chair across from him.

"My wife here yet?" When she shook her head and grinned knowingly, it sent his annoyance up a notch. "What, Carly? What?"

"Nothing! Geez, calm down. I just think it's cute how you keep referring to Sam as your wife, even though you two haven't been married for a minute. Things must be going good, huh?"

"Have you seen her or not?" He wasn't keeping track but knowing that's how he thought of her, Jason wasn't surprised to hear that's what he'd been calling her.

"Sam's not here - not anymore." When his askance look demanded she explained, she went on, "She went to meet Sonny. He called while she was waiting for you and said he had something to talk to her about. They're at his office."

Breaking out his phone, Jason shook his head. "You couldn't have just said that to begin with?" Two texts from Sam had gone unnoticed, likely due to his phone still being on silent mode from his stakeout of the lousy, faithless louse that poor woman was married to. Rising to his feet, he started towards the elevator. "I'll just meet her over there - maybe we can get Conan to whip us up something. Catch you later, Carly."

"Wait - that's it? You're just going to leave?" She followed him to her feet and over to the elevator, where he'd already pushed the call button. "You can't stay and have lunch with me instead?"

"Can't. Got a date with my best girl!"

"Your date stood you up and I haven't gotten you alone in ages. Come on Jase - stay!" Brushing his arm and whipping out her most charming, coaxing smile, she tried to pull him away from the opening door, but failed when he stood his ground.

"Some other time. I want to see Sam - it's been almost forty-eight hours. We really need to hire more people to pass this grunge work off to."

"I can help you with that. Stay and we'll strategize."

Shaking his head, Jason boarded the elevator and smiled. "Nice try, but I think Sam and I will handle this one. Bye, Carly!"

"Jason, wait - there's something you should know before you go there!"

"Later!"

"Fine! One of these days you're gonna want to spend time with me and I'm gonna be too busy!" The doors had closed on most of that remark, which didn't matter since they both knew it was a damn lie. That'd be the day when she wouldn't make time for her best friend! Rushing to the bar to find her phone, she tried calling Sonny to warn him. Man, she hoped that guy wasn't working today!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sam looked at the clock on the wall then back to where Sonny sat at his desk with the phone glued to his ear, precisely where it had been the last ten minutes since she'd arrived. Twirling her phone in his direction she sighed and turned her back when he held a finger up to ask her to hold on, her curiosity piquing when she caught glimpse of a familiar blonde exiting the building. What was he doing there? Hurrying after him, she was just in time to see him turn towards the docks.

"Hey!"

She couldn't decide whether he just hadn't heard the shout, or if he chose not to. Either way, she would not be deterred.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

He stopped short at the sound of her voice, turning to find her hurriedly striding in his direction, purposely seeking him out? His pulse quickened at the sight of her, same as it had everytime since he'd arrived. He really, really longed to hold her.

"Sam?"

"What are you doing in Sonny's office? Are you spying on him?"

He barely registered the harshness of the questions, seeing only the presence of the woman he loved. "Sam!"

"Why do you always repeat my name?" He was giving her that unnerving, besotted look that gave her the eebiejeebies - the one that made her think he was seeing her in all kinds of private ways she didn't at all care for.

"I'm sorry. It's just so good to see you. How are you?"

"Just fine, so how bout you answer my question - what are you doing here?"

She was so damn sexy when she was all business. "I work here."

"Excuse me?"

"I work with Sonny, Sam - it's what I do - it's all I've ever done!"

Sam was confused by the statement. "Wait a minute - are you telling me that Sonny gave you a job, _knowing_ you're trying to take Jason's place? _Knowing_ what a threat you are to all of us?"

"I would never hurt Sonny and I certainly would never hurt you - I hope you know that?

"What exactly is your agenda then?"

"It's been the same one since I got here…to make you see I am who I say I am, and to get you away from that stranger."

" _He's_ not the stranger."

"I'm your husband. We made vows and promises to each other and to our family, that I intend to keep for the rest of my life - a life I'm not about to let some guy just waltz right into." He took a careful step closer, instinct taking over to move a hand that brushed the errant hair from her beautiful face, his gentle touch pausing when she didn't flinch, but took a deep breath, her eyes frisking his face in query. He felt the smile transforming his face and just as he stroked a finger down her cheek, he felt himself being yanked away from her, stumbling to catch his footing when a brute force shoved him hard.

 ** _"_** ** _Get your hands off her!"_**

The next second his jaw stabbed with pain, where a fist connected to stagger him even further back, the might behind the punch making him dizzy before he realized he was under attack.

Jason was seeing red! The second he'd turned the corner and spotted him touching her, the sight of what they looked like standing there, what he used to look like touching her, had sucker punched his gut and reared his anger to an instant boil.

"Jason, STOP!"

Flashing off the tiny hand he felt trying to restrain him, he launched for the man who'd been trying in every way to assume his life. He was sick of this shit…and now he thought he could touch Sam too? Before he could recover, Jason had landed a second punch to the next jaw, but that one seemed expected as he felt a returned jab to his own. Son-of-a-bitch! Crouching to wrestler form, he charged and grabbed hold, using vice arms to squeeze with might as he pushed him railing backwards to smash into the side of the warehouse behind him, the next instant feeling the pain of strong arms crashing down into his own back when the man doubled over and smashed down, sending him to the ground.

"JASON! JASON, STOP IT! STOP THIS!"

Flicking over on his back instantly, Jason grabbed at the feet near his face to bring the man crashing to the ground with him, where he scrambled up and got a chokehold at his neck, only to feel his hands parted when the imposter's snaked up forcefully between them and chucked away his grip. Without missing a beat, Jason swung an arm back and landed a punch to the man's gut where he laid on his back, but just as he brought his arm up to repeat, it was grabbed from behind when Sam tried again to stop them.

"JASON, THAT'S ENOUGH! STOP!"

But he couldn't stop. This fool kept trying to infiltrate his life and now thought he could touch his wife so intimately? Nobody but him does the hair sweep with Sam - nobody! She was pulling at him to get up and it loosened his grip to where the man was allowed to reach his feet, to rush Jason and take a swing that found his jaw and sent him staggering back in the midst of rising. With a quick answer of his own, Jason fired off a cross punch and a rapid jab that sent the man staggering back again, followed closely by Jason who grabbed him up by the front of the shirt and hurled him to the ground.

"STOP IT! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU TWO?"

They'd fought their way to the nearby pier, punches and wrestling bear hugs practically mirroring each other's as they both flayed like angry beasts, both strongly silent in the face of the animosity that had brewed steadily between them.

Sam hadn't given up trying to get them to stop. She'd seen Jason fight before, but never someone who's skills so closely mirrored his own. When they paid no heed whatsoever to her cries, she shouted for Sonny, for Max, for anybody who would stop them from pummeling each other to death.

"Sam - what's wr…"

 ** _"_** ** _Stop them, Max! Don't just stand there - do something!"_**

Max moved towards the fighting men but stopped in his tracks when Sonny's order rang out behind them.

"Leave them, Max!"

Turning incredulously to glare at him, Sam wondered if he was crazy! "What do you mean leave them - **_Sonny do something!"_**

He came to a stop next to Sam, hands akimbo as he watched the fight in front of them. "They need to do this. Let them get it out."

"Get it out? Sonny…" Realizing she was pleading with a lost cause, Sam gave up trying to convince them and rushed the fracas herself to try again. **_"JASON, FOR PETE'S SAKE, STOP!"_**

He could hear her, and a part of him even wanted to do it for her, but a larger part wanted to take this fucker limb from limb. When that part won out, he rushed the man who was rushing him too, colliding in a dual bear hug that sent them both over the side of the pier and into the dark water below, still squeezing the bejesus out of each other as they sank heavily.

 ** _"_** ** _Shit, Sonny - will you do something?"_** Sam knew she shouldn't panic, Jason can hold his own…but something about seeing him seemingly fight _himself_ , and now toppling into the water that started the whole debacle that took him away from her to begin with? **_"Dammit, Sonny!"_**

"Alright, alright - calm down." Realizing that he was about to be involved in a fistfight of his own if he kept ignoring her, Sonny reached to pat Sam's shoulder to help calm her, then gestured for Max to intervene. "Max…get in there!"

"Okay, Boss!"

Easing out of his suit jacket, Max draped it over a post then kicked his shoes off and jumped in, thinking of the fit Diane would have if she saw what he was doing to the new Italian suit she'd picked out herself. The things his job called for!

"Max, do you see them?" Sam was impatiently jabbing her hair into a ponytail with the dark elastic band always handy on her wrist, alarm growing when they hadn't resurfaced. She was about to jump in, boots and all, when Jason spluttered to the surface, apart finally, but looking around for his opponent again. "Jason! Oh, thank God! Jason, please - over here - give me your hand!" She went on all fours, then reached one hand out to call him to her. "Over here!"

Something fearful sounding in the voice of the woman he loved, brought his attention to where she knelt waiting, the look upon her face one of fright…so unusual for her…and then he caught sight of the huge block numbers on the wall behind her and he realized how it had to look to her…him falling into the water on the pier where it happened…disappearing before her eyes! Feeling like an overgrown eel, Jason waded to where she still knelt with her hand out for him, bracing the dock to heave his body from the water with her gripping his arm to assist.

"Oh, baby…what were you thinking?" Relieved to see he was okay, she threw her arms around his neck before he could fully emerge, stumbling to the deck with him when her weight threw him off balance. She didn't care - he was okay.

Holding her close, Jason buried his head in her shoulder and pulled her in closer. "I'm sorry, baby. I saw him touching you…I'm sorry." He felt shame for scaring her, but not an ounce of regret for decking that fool.

"He okay, Max?"

The sound of Sonny's question turned their attention to where Max was wading to them with the seemingly unconscious body-double threading water in his arms.

"He's breathing but he's bleeding from his head."

The sound of sirens reached them, announcing someone had called for help - mostly likely one of the workers nearby who'd caught the whole show. Sam and Jason didn't move from each other's arms where they watched the emergency workers take over from Max, checking for a pulse and administering CPR, then leaving soon after with the man still unconscious on a gurney.

"What was this about?" An arriving Dante Falconeri addressed his father, then looked to where Jason and Sam still sat on the edge of the pier, watching the events unfold. "Somebody mind telling me what I'm looking at?"

It was Sonny who answered, looking over at Max as he collected his belongings to head back to the office. "There was a fight, both fell into the water, Max fished one out and now it's over."

"That's it? That's what you want me to record as your statement?"

"That's what happened."

"Really? How about some more details? Who started it?"

"Didn't see that part."

"Okay - what did you see?"

"I just told you what I saw."

Turning from his father in annoyance, Dante started to ask the man on the pier, then thought better of it, knowing his answers would be even more vague than Sonny's, so he tried Sam instead. "How about _you_ tell me what happened." He didn't expect very much, but she would probably be a little bit more forthcoming than the others.

"You heard Sonny. There was a fight and they ended up in the water. What more is there?"

"You tell me. Who threw the first punch?"

"Couldn't tell you."

He shook his head and scribbled on the notepad. Trying to get anything out of those three was always pulling teeth. Even before they lawyered up they would provide as little information as possible.

"Can you at least tell me who he is? I'd heard you had a look alike show up recently but I haven't seen him until now. What do you know about him?"

"As much as you do."

"Somehow I doubt that. Have you at least found out his name?"

"He's been going by Jason Morgan - that's the only name he'll give."

"He's not Jason." All eyes turned to Sonny, who was standing with one hand pushing the jacket back at his waist and the other palming his cheek, as he looked to the ground. When he felt them all staring, he faced the music. "He's been working for me, so I had a glass he touched analyzed for prints and matched to Jason's on file. He's not Jason Morgan."

"Sonny - how long have you known this?" Sam stood to her feet and helped Jason do the same, who had his own question that sharply followed hers.

"He's working for you?"

Bracing his palms out to calm their accusing questions, Sonny answered one then the other. "I just found out a couple days ago, and yes, I gave him a job after he saved my life."

"How convenient!" Jason approached his friend in confrontation and mild hurt. "I wouldn't do your bidding anymore so you grabbed a replacement?"

"It's not like that. He came out of the blue the other day and got the drop on these two punks holding me up. You should've seen him - he moved like you, handled himself just like you…but I had my doubts, so I figured I'd keep him close where I could have an eye on him…for all of us!"

Dante's head went up in realization. "Wait a minute - those two stiffs on the pier - that was you? Why didn't you say anything? You weren't around when the police arrived."

"Why would I stick around to be interrogated by a punch of eager cops? Besides, I had no information to share…I had no idea who they were or what they wanted. I couldn't have told them anything."

"You know damn well that's not how it works, Sonny! You can't just leave the scene of a double homicide because you feel like it!"

"It was an ambush, Dante! He saved my life!"

"So you just hired him and gave him access to Jason, just like that?" For once Sam was on Dante's side, annoyed with Sonny and his handling of the situation.

"Jason doesn't want to be involved with the business anymore. This guy has skills that I can use…and it gave me the chance to learn a few things."

"Like?" Jason was still trying to stay calm. It wasn't that he cared who the mobster hired or even trusted, for that matter, but he expected more loyalty from somebody he'd devoted so much of his life to.

"Like - he's not you! But he knows a hell of alot that he shouldn't. I'm still trying to figure out how that's possible."

"Well, we can all figure it out at the station - let's go - all of you!" Dante tried to herd them towards the stairs, but nobody moved to his urging.

"Jason needs to go to the hospital. He might've taken in water…" when he started to protest, Sam cut it off, "…you were under for a while, and before that you took quite a few punches. Don't think I don't see you holding your side…you probably have a fractured rib! We're going!" She shoved him in the direction of the stairs and followed suit.

"Fine, but come to the station afterwards - I want a proper statement!" When neither bothered to answer, Dante called after them, "Sam! Jason!" A backward flick of the man's hand was all the response he received, and he knew that if he wanted a statement he was going to have to search them out.

The hospital wasn't busy so Dr. Monroe was able to take a look at Jason as soon as they arrived, much to both their impatient delight. They were awaiting his test results in a cubicle when the sound of a familiar voice got their attention, both looking at each other in surprise at hearing who it was.

 _"Where is he? Is he conscious?"_

 _"No doctor! His vitals are stable but he has yet to open his eyes."_

 _"Who's the attending physician?"_

 _"Dr. Finn. He's going over his scans in his office right now."_

Sam got up to see but heard the voice trailing down the corridor by the time she got to the curtain. "I'll be right back." Leaving Jason to wait impatiently for his release, she decided to follow down the adjoining hallway, where she saw the doctor enter a patient room. There was no sound coming from inside when Sam got to the door, so she waited a few minutes, then eased it open for a peak when the woman didn't reemerge. Eyes boggling at what she was looking at, Sam found her mind racing to fit huge pieces of the puzzle together, uncertain if she could trust the uneasy feeling building within her, yet knowing in her gut she was on to the motherload.


	49. Chapter 49

_**A/N: 49 chapters later and you're still reading my little story - thank you! Thank you for reviewing, especially the consistent handful who still review each chapter - love hearing your thoughts and I do appreciate your appreciation of my work - thank you so much! Sooooo...who do you think she is? :::::insert maniacal laugh here::::: LOLOLOLOL!**_

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"It doesn't make any sense…maybe she believes he's me, like everybody else?"

"That's what I was thinking at first - I mean, she hasn't been around, right? So she shows up and sees this guy with your looks, and she's thrown like everybody was…except, she wasn't exactly having trouble believing her eyes…not from what I could see."

"What do you make of it?"

"We need to look into her - where she's been all this time - what she's been doing."

"We don't usually spy on our friends, Sam."

"Except for when they start cavorting with our enemies, Jason." She walked over from the other end of the cubicle and inclined her head at him, "If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then the friend of my enemy…"

"…is my enemy."

"Exactly! We need answers and she has some, apparently!"

"Funny how we're the investigators, yet we're the only ones in short supply of those these days."

"What do you mean?"

"Everybody else got some…from this phony who knows my whole life, to Sonny, who's known for days he isn't who he's pretending to be, and now…"

"Now **_she_** knows who he is and most likely, why he's here!"

"C'mon," he got up from the table and held his hand out for her, "Let's get some of our own!"

They entered the hall to find Sonny and Carly arguing with Elizabeth Webber, who was apparently trying to exert some feeble authority, much to Carly's ire.

"Please - you are NO Epiphany Johnson - just because you occasionally remember that you work here doesn't make you able to tell me which room I can, and cannot visit!"

"Our patients are my responsibility, so if you are uninjured you have no business here. Please leave the premises."

"We have more business here than you do - you're only still employed because the Chief Of Staff feels some ridiculous sense of loyalty to your flaky ass. MOVE!" She'd spotted whom she wanted to see and pushed forcibly past the nurse to go around her. "Jason!" Rushing to him, her worried gaze locked upon her friend. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and I'll be even better when we finally get to the bottom of this." Keeping past her, he followed Sam's lead back to the room she'd witnessed the quiet reunion.

"Where are you going?" When he didn't bother to answer, both Sonny and Carly took off after them, followed by Elizabeth after the briefest hesitation where she tried to decide between following or actually starting the job she got paid for.

"Good - you're awake!" Sam hadn't bothered knocking, just pushed the door open, startling both occupants of the room who were sharing space on the tiny bed. Shocked at their entrance, the doctor jumped to her feet to face them.

"Sam! Jason!"

Annoyed to the extreme by the entire situation, Sam sauntered to a stop before the doctor, arms folded in front of her body though to prevent them from doing what she really wanted to.

"Oh look, Jason - she acknowledges you're you! Must mean she knows exactly who this phony is, don't you think?" When her face went red, Sam watched the woman realize her instant mistake.

Jason stopped next to Sam, his eyes going from the surprise visitor to the man who'd sat up straighter against the pillows when they arrived, a hand raising to touch his bandaged head that appeared to have him wincing at the movement.

"Robin! It's normally good to see you…but I'm afraid this is going to need some explaining!"

"I'd say!" Carly had followed the couple into the room, her curiosity turning to instant suspicion and reaffirmed distaste when her eyes beheld what they also saw. "How the hell do you two even know each other?"

Sonny was shocked to see the woman who was like a little sister to him, especially in the presence of the man uprooting their lives, but he went immediately on Carly-control, given how she was always ready on the attack when it came to Robin Scorpio-Drake, who was standing before them looking like a deer caught in headlights at that moment. Taking Carly's arm to restrain further movement into the room, he told her calmly, "Let them handle it, Carly."

"Hi Sonny!" It had usually been so good to see her friend, but Robin could see the same surprise turn to distrust that was written on Jason's face, and she knew this meeting was about to be anything but pleasant. "Elizabeth…long time."

Sam was impatient and not in any mood for small talk, cutting in before anyone else could detour the conversation that had past its expiration date. "I'm sure it is, but you can catch up after you explain. Who is this man, Robin?"

Sonny interjected, "Before you start to back his story - we already know he's not Jason."

"Really?" Robin looked at her acquaintance on the bed and back to Sonny, "You sound so sure?"

Just then, Sam's phone beeped with an alert, drawing all attention to her pulling it from her back pocket to read the message, then handing it to Jason as she glared at the man sitting on the bed.

"Everybody, meet Brent Riley, aka, Bruce Reardan, aka Byron Rich and a slew of other aliases throughout the world!" Edging closer to the bed, Sam locked onto the uneasy look creeping into uncertain eyes. "How do you manage to keep them straight?"

"Sam, whatever that is you're reading - you're mistaken. I don't know any of those names. I've never gone by anything other than Jas…"

"Robin?" Jason held Sam's phone up to the woman who was growing increasingly uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "How are you involved in this?"

"Keep reading, Jason." Sam was staring heatedly between the two as she pieced what she'd just read together for the others in the room. "They've both been in the same city for the past year at least - and the jailbreak was nothing but a ruse - he was locked up for exactly three days!"

Carly flashed Sonny off and stepped fully into the circle around the bed. "Okay, wait a damn minute. Somebody needs to explain! Sam, how do you know all this?"

"A search Spinelli ran last night just came through…I sent him a photo of our pal here and he ran it through his facial recognition software, the same one he used to ID Jason, and wouldn't you know, it returned a composite this morning of what Mr. Riley looked like **_before_** his surgery to make him look like Jason!"

"Surgery?" Carly was gaping from Sam to the man on the bed who seemed to be growing more confused by Sam's words.

"Yep! Turns out he's a con turned pawn of the Cassadines, which is where it gets interesting, as I'm guessing his path crossed with the good doctor's awhile back, when they had her in captivity - isn't that right doc?"

"Surgery?" Elizabeth's delayed echo of Carly's astonishment sounded out but no-one seemed particularly interested in her voice. "Jason…" she moved closer to the bed, imploring him with her eyes, "…what is she talking about? You're **_you_** …". She looked repeatedly between the man on the bed and the one never far from Sam's side, a strangled sound escaping her throat when neither tried to appease her, "…aren't you?"

Sonny joined Carly at the bedside, his gaze fixing on his friend, the words swirling around the room making no sense and certainly not befitting the person he knew her to be.

"Robin, what are they talking about? You were in Africa, right? You left to help…"

Dropping all pretense and laying all cards out in front for all to see, she replied icily, "No, Sonny! Actually, I spent the last year as the captive of a madman, and once again my family, my friends were too busy making a muddle of the pathetic things they call lives, to bother to notice!" One look at the dawning in Brent's eyes and she gave up pretending, eyeing all of them with bitter contempt. "Don't you dare stand here in judgment of me! I was plucked from my life and held prisoner by Helena and Faison for two years, and nobody noticed! Then as soon as I get back to Patrick and Emma, Victor came after me with the **_one_** thing he knew could take me away from them again…the chance to help _you!"_ She jerked an angry finger in Jason's direction, her ire lancing him full on. "He knew I'd never be able to live with myself knowing I could've helped you and did nothing, and he was right. I left willingly, saved your life, and got locked up for it because he had a bigger agenda from the start!"

"You know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me, Robin…which is why I don't understand any of this!"

"No?" She took a menacing step towards Jason, who's eyes opened wider in surprise. "I got you home to your family, deposited you safely back in Port Charles…yet when I needed you to return the favor, stayed positive day in, day out just **_knowing_** you were coming for me…you were here shacked up with Elizabeth, leaving this one hanging all over my husband!"

"Excuse me?" Sam was taken aback not only by the woman's story but by her accusations that quickly turned on her when she drew the doctor's attention.

"You heard me! I gave up my **_life_** with my family, who I'd spent two damn years away from already… ** _two_** **_years_** missing out on my daughter growing up! Two years where my husband went through hell before turning to another woman. I'd **_just_** gotten them back, when I left them again to return **_your_** husband to you…but you couldn't wait…no, you had to take mine in the meantime and try to replace me in my daughter's life! I was once again locked away by **_lunatics_** in their insane bid to rule the world, while you slept in my bed and lived in my house like it belonged to you!"

"Wait a damn minute, Robin! First of all, I didn't ask you and Patrick to keep Jason's presence in that clinic from me - you both chose to lie! I would've gotten him outta there, come hell or high-water…I would've gotten him away from that madman and into the best medical care money could buy! Nobody asked you to be a martyr and go off in silence and secret - **_you_** chose to turn your back on your family to go be my husband's hero…"

"Typical - thinks she's the only one who can save Jason - keeps him grateful and indebted to the saintly Dr. Scorpio _n_ for eternity, doesn't it Robin?" Carly's snide turned her mouth distastefully, her words drawing attention momentarily before Sam finished her thought.

"…so don't blame us for not knowing what the hell was happening to you!"

"You didn't care less what was happening to me, Sam - or to Jason for that matter - you were much too busy screwing my husband!"

"That is a damn lie! Patrick and I comforted each other through grief and immense loss! He went through hell when Gabriel died, and I knew firsthand what that felt like, so I was there! We were friends long before anything ever happened between us, and I never once tried to take your place with either of them!"

"Did you tell yourself that when you were sleeping in **_my_** bed, in **_my_** house, using **_my_** daughter to replace your dead baby?"

The sound of a pin dropping would've echoed boomingly in the deadly silence that followed. Taking a breath, Sam calmed the anger that flared at the mention of baby Lila, refusing to be taken off task. "Okay, Robin. You win…we should've been able to read minds and tarot cards to know what was really happening…so now what? How about you get to the part where you engineered plastic surgery to make some stranger look like Jason and try to take his life! How about you explain that part to us simpleminded folk?"

"What's to explain? All these years loyal to people who can't show me the same in return…years and years, spent putting people first, and repeatedly getting kicked in the teeth for it…I'd finally had enough and you were the perfect person to start pay back with!"

Sam's head flashed back in surprise as one hand lifted to rest against her chest. "Me? So your sick meltdown is all about me?"

"Who else? Everybody knows that you can't resist Jason, no matter who you claim to love when you're pissed at him! Since the real Jason was too busy sniffing out his old bedpost, I needed a replacement good enough to fill the role without questions. Brent was the guard Victor assigned to keep me captive and we got to know each other…happens when someone sees you at your worst day after day. His bone structure was perfect and my colleague in Brussels needed to do very little to get the results I wanted…but healing and conditioning still took time…time during which you've been busy adding broken hearts to all the injury you've already inflicted upon my family." When Sam looked at her like she'd completely lost her mind, Robin defended, "Patrick and Emma were devastated when you left them, and after spending all that time making them love you…how dare you? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Turning to Jason in momentary awe, Sam's mouth fell open. "Are _all_ of your exes crazy? When one's not trying to run me out of town on rails…," she gestured towards Carly who gave her a girl-don't-go-there look, "…one's falsifying records to say my baby's dead," she pointed blatantly in Elizabeth's direction that time, "…or one's blaming me for world dominating lunatics keeping her self-righteous ass locked up! What the hell's next?"

Jason and Sonny had been struck practically speechless, listening to the words coming from the mouth of someone they would've sworn on a stack of bibles could never utter anything resembling them. Drawing tired hands across an equally tired face, Jason asked for clarification, "So let me get this straight…this is all a scheme to punish Sam for your husband falling in love with her? You want to take my life away from me - the life you just said you tried to give back - just so Sam will hurt?"

"For someone who loves you so deeply don't you think she moved on a little quickly to Patrick? I might've forgiven a fling, but she tried to _marry_ him! She tried to mother _my_ child! As if some biker chick from Hicksville could ever!"

 _"_ _THAT'S ENOUGH!"_ Turning away in exasperation, Jason soon turned back to face her, "I'm trying really hard here to understand why you would do this. So Sam fell in love with Drake - so what? They were both single and available and found something in each other we were too busy leaving them alone to give! **_I_** chose to leave my family home that night and got shot for being stupid, just like **_you_** chose to leave yours without telling anybody what you were really doing? That's on us!"

"Oh, nothing is ever Robin's fault!" Carly was as annoyed as Jason and she had no trouble spitting it out. "She sits atop her perfect little pedestal and preaches to the rest of us about the sins of our ways!" Using a forefinger, she jabbed the doctor's shoulder as she glared her in the eyes, "Instead of your cryptic little quip about how I would fall at your feet if I knew why you were leaving, how about you'd told me the **_truth_** so we could've utilized Sonny's resources to get Jason out of that hellhole? How about telling his wife the **_PI_** _,_ that he was being held captive somewhere so we could've gone and gotten him? Or even how about not lying to your husband about how **_dead_** Jason was when he was laying alive in some vat right there at your fingertips and his wife just downstairs, huh - how about that?" Robin brushing her finger off testily didn't deter her, "For someone who was forever lecturing people about truth and living clean, you sure tell quite a few wallops of your own, don't you? But that's okay, right - lying is fine when it's **_your_** agenda at stake, isn't it?"

"Oh, shut up, Carly! Nobody asked you! Brent would've definitely had no trouble whatsoever convincing **_you_** who he was - you've always only used Jason to do your dirty work and clean up the god-awful mess you constantly make of your pathetic life! You don't love Jason - you own him! And he's always been too much of a block to see it!" She spun on Jason angrily, "That's right - that's what I said! You cut me out of your life and turned your back so fast my head spun for years, all because I righted a wrong you perpetrated 'cause this skank _asked_ you to!"

"That was so long ago, Robin!"

"It doesn't mean I've forgotten! It doesn't mean it hurts any less when I think about how easy you could cut me off but pledge yourself and your life to this worthless bitch for all eternity! You pick and choose when to be noble and righteous, Jason - just like you pick and choose when to lie! You put Sonny and Carly above everyone and everything else, so I wasn't the least bit surprised you forgot to be grateful after everything I sacrificed for you!"

"You're not making any sense! Neither of us are to blame for what happened to us! Helena and Victor manipulated our lives and took everything away from us, but you're blaming the people in this room?" He looked to the man on the bed, who was looking more and more confused by the minute, his thoughts seemingly driving in and out of the moment, "And just exactly what is your stake in this?"

"My name is Brent…Riley! I'm Brent Riley!" He looked dazed and far away, as if pounding his memory banks for long lost information.

Carly rolled her eyes to the ceiling, "Yes, genius - we covered that part! How about you keep up and fill us in on what you have to gain from this charade."

But it was as if he hadn't heard a word she said, still lost in his own thoughts. "I'm Brent…"

"What did you do to him?" Carly was actually curious when she finally noticed how lost he appeared.

"Brent was hypnotized! During my time with Jason, working on Victor's ridiculous plan to awaken his dead relatives, I stumbled on a new drug that with the help of systematic hypnosis sessions, later perfected during Helena's turn at holding me captive, proved to have long term effects at controlling what was fed to the mind and ultimately believed."

 ** _"_** ** _What?"_** The echo sounded around the room as each person started with renewed wonder at the seemingly sane doctor, at least on the outside, calm as you please, rolling out the dastardly deeds she'd implemented to control people's lives.

"I was able to use my drug to block Brent's memories, and plant new ones through hypnosis over several weeks. He truly believes he's Jason Morgan. He's not pretending."

"Well aren't you the clever little doctor?" Carly felt like punching the smugness off her damn face, but she knew Jason and Sam wanted answers, and she couldn't wait to hear it all herself.

"Alot more than you'll ever be!" Cutting eyes from the blond to the man and woman she set out to hurt the way they'd hurt her and hers, Robin laid it all out. "I know everything about your life, remember? There was a time when there was nothing you and I didn't talk about," seeing a chance for a jab she took it heartily, "including the fact that you were just sleeping with Carly because I was afraid of giving you HIV…and the minute you found out it bothered me, you cut her ass right off!"

Carly was definitely going to punch her this time and she moved with fist at the ready, but Jason moved his body to block her.

"I never told you any intimate details about my relationship with Sam!"

"That's what you think! You were at my mercy in that lab for over a year…I tried a myriad of drugs and protocols to keep you alive…you spent hours and hours, mumbling between intubations, and it was always about your precious Sam and Danny. All I had to do was listen. When I got you home and you just forgot about me and left me at Helena's mercy, and Patrick in the arms of your _wife_ , I came up with the perfect way to get her away from my family…it's only a bonus it hits you where it hurts too, all with one blow."

Sonny had heard enough, moving Carly aside so he could get closer, shaking his head at someone he thought above petty retaliations, "Robin, you are better than this! You don't deliberately hurt people - it's not your style! You look out for your friends!"

"And what has it ever gotten me, Sonny? Where are my friends when I need them? Where were you when Lisa Niles tried _everything_ to destroy my life and step into my family, like this one?" She nodded in Sam's direction without breaking contact with Sonny's eyes, "Where were you when these people were kidnapping me again and again, huh? What's the point of having your own personal gangsters who call you _family_ , when they're absolutely no use to you in your time of need? Where were you and your guns when I needed you?"

"In the dark, where you left all of us! I would've come blasting for you if I had any idea that you needed me, and you know that! I would never let anybody get away with hurting you…you told me you wanted to handle that Niles situation yourself, remember that? I offered to take care of it!"

"A half-hearted offer at best! You were too wrapped up in your own selfishness, like you always are! Carly is the only person you and Jason give a damn about in this town - the bitch with the saddest, most pathetic life, always in need of bailing out of some ridiculous mess she caused in the first place. You don't have time for me - you never did!"

Covering his heart as if from a stab, Sonny looked at his little sister and felt his eyes well. "Tell me you don't believe that! Tell me you know that I will always have your back!"

"Oh, give it up Sonny! Don't fall for her little Miss Perfect, Woe Is Me routine…she's flawed just like the rest of us and more diabolical than we ever knew." Carly grabbed Sonny's arm to push her way back to the forefront where he was still trying to block her. "If she can do something like this to Jason, of all people, she's capable of just about anything!"

"So what was the endgame, Robin?" Jason's quiet question had been running through his mind, the rest of the drama playing out around him seeming off in the distance. "After he got everyone to believe him, what were you planning to do next?"

"Well, it's not like I thought he could pull it off forever. Eventually one of you would figure it out…DNA is probably the only exact science out there - somebody was bound to demand a test one of these days. I'm surprised one of you didn't already try to test him against Danny."

"You leave my son out of this!" Sam snapped out the command with such venom the woman jumped a little, despite herself. "Like I took this shit serious enough to drag my child through any part of it!"

"No matter. I just needed Brent in place long enough to get you away from Patrick and Emma, especially since I couldn't rely on the real thing to be consistent, always in and out of Elizabeth. After that, he would've conveniently disappeared just as easily as he appeared - after I'd stepped back into my family, of course. I don't give a damn how it affected the rest of you or how you dealt with the fallout! You all deserve to lose everything - you don't know how to look out for anybody not in your tight little inner circle!"

Finally able to move from the corner she'd been ignored in the whole time, with no idea what to believe anymore but realizing she had the perfect ally finally, someone who hated the very air Sam Morgan breathed as much as she did, she took tentative, timid steps towards her very good friend, reminding her sheepishly, "Robin, you could've called me…I would've helped you!"

Slowly turning her head to meet the act being put forth solely for her benefit, she answered truthfully, "Elizabeth, please…everybody in this room knows if there's no chance of needing a paternity test, especially one involving Jason, no-one can rely on you for shit!"

 _ **A/N: Was it who you thought?**_


	50. Chapter 50

The feel of Jason's arm snaking her back did little to calm Sam, who's attention centered on the doctor, who it appeared had lost her damn mind! "Your soldier showed up a bit late, didn't he? Patrick and I have been completely over for months, in case you missed it…so what's the point now?"

The sound of his name dropping disdainfully from the lips of the woman who'd spent way too long hanging all over him, while she'd been forced to endure a living hell - praying every day for _someone_ to figure things out and spare a minute of their precious happiness to come looking for her, spiked Robin's already burning anger. _"You've_ moved on, but he hasn't! He's still holding out hope that you'll change that fickle, feeble mind!" Ignoring the cautioning look from Jason, she narrowed the gaze on Sam, "Here I am, waiting and waiting for him to get over you, and he's still pining like some wounded puppy for you to take him back. Over my dead body will that happen."

Shrugging Jason off, Sam took a menacing step in response to the dark red running through her, "Your dead body, I can deliver!"

"Do it, Sam - beat her ass!" Carly was restlessly itching to get closer but damn Sonny wouldn't let her, gripping onto her arm everytime she made a move.

"Everybody - easy!" Closing very tired eyes for a split second, Sonny raised a cautioning palm to his friend. "You have things all wrong, Robin…Jason and Sam are back together and happy - you can see that, can't you? Nobody here had ill intentions towards you, or your family." He gestured to the man on the bed, who still laid dazed and disengaged. "None of this was called for. Stop it from going any further."

"Further?" Sam addressed Sonny, openly annoyed at the kid gloves he and Jason chose to use in face of the blatant attack on their lives she was far from ready to as easily forgive. "What can she and her toy soldier do to us?" Her eyes moved from the lookalike to the doctor bitingly, "You should've just asked…I would've saved you the trouble!"

"That's right, I forgot…nobody else's feelings matter when Jason's in the picture!" The doctor was growing even angrier with the disregard for the man she loved making her more so. "He was good enough to warm your bed after you'd worked your way through every other specimen, but now he's trash because Jason finally looked at you again? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Someone you fear a great deal, apparently…to go to these lengths over some d…!"

"Sam, will you please just kick her ass already?" Carly was bristling to do it herself but nobody would let her through, and she was sick to death of the airiness from the superior minded little bitch who's always deserved a good knock down. Yanking her arm from Sonny's hold, she paced to the back wall and back, her heels clicking angrily at the tile as she moved her arms from chucking the long blond hair behind her ears to fist at her hips.

"Carly, stop." Jason had heard enough. With one arm still at Sam's back and his body on alert to react, knowing her, he tried again to diffuse the situation that had started to give him a headache. "Robin, I'm sorry that you got hurt. The injury to my head wiped out any memories of escaping Helena together…I had no idea she was holding you. There's no way I would've left you there if I knew." Despite the step she took back when he left Sam's side to cautiously approach, he edged close enough to look her in the eyes, trying ardently to connect, "I will always be your friend! I'm sorry for all of it…I really am…but you've got it all wrong."

"Jason, don't apologize - she's a looney bitch!" Everybody being sorry when they clearly weren't in the wrong was making Carly crazy. Pointing to where the doctor spared her only a brief look, she spouted angrily, "She did this and was about to do some real damage - on purpose - why are you forgiving her so easily?"

With his gaze still fixed on Robin's distrusting eyes stabbing his way, Jason answered with what he truly believed, "Because she did it out of hurt. She felt betrayed and alone, and that's partly my fault. She would never deliberately hurt anyone…especially not her friends."

Elizabeth, who had been silent in one corner of the crowded room, watching and listening, still awed at there being two of the man she loved and floored by the situation unfolding before them, suddenly saw the chance to claim the seat she held on the inside, a seat nobody in that room could deny her, no matter how much they tore her down trying to. Grabbing hold with baring teeth, she set to reprise her once central role…to remind them all of where she belonged. "Jason's right, Robin…the three of us have been friends since we were kids…we love each other so much. They have no idea how close we three are - how could they? The bond we share…"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" The brazen attempt at forced camaraderie proved to irk Robin's already increasing annoyance as she turned to fully face the staggering desperation. "Nobody cares about your lifelong itch for Jason…if he wanted you, you would've had him by now - why is that so hard to see?"

Falling back in shock at the cruelty of her friend's words, Elizabeth gasped out loud, "Robin!"

"Don't _Robin_ me! You damn well heard what I said before…his entire time in and out of consciousness, all he talked about was this bitch," her arm flayed towards Sam, "His sole motivation for breaking out of that hell was to get back to **_her,_** and all the way back to town, he couldn't speak, but I talked to him about Danny being his son. Hearing about **_them_** was all he cared about…and from what I've seen recently, even his latest detour to your bed did nothing to keep him there, once he started to remember her…despite the fact she was busy screwing my husband at the time! Even when he couldn't remember her, you couldn't keep him interested…so just what the hell are you **_still_** pining over?"

"This isn't you, Robin! You would never say these hurtful things to me, ever!"

"No? Maybe that's the problem - nobody ever tells you the truth! Maybe if people spent less time coddling and babying your sickening entitlement and poorly disguised bitchitude, you wouldn't be so damn desperate and nauseating!"

Tears she hadn't summoned this time sprang forward when humiliation stabbed her chest. "That's not fair!"

 _"_ ** _Life's_** not fair, sweetheart! If it were, I wouldn't have been kidnapped - **_twice_** \- and forcibly kept from my husband and daughter, while you all went about living your pathetic lives like nobody else mattered. I wouldn't have had to watch from the sidelines, while my husband fell in love with another undeserving trainwreck, who walked all over his heart the minute her precious _soulmate_ acknowledged her existence! I wouldn't have fallen short of getting my revenge watching her fall for a plant and pushing away the one man everybody knows her life revolves around, finally getting to see **_her_** lose everything when Brent walks off with all he owns, leaving her with **_nothing_** and **_no_** Jason - because the real one would've gotten sick of her turning to one more man that wasn't him! Nobody said shit about life being **_fair!"_**

 _"W-o-w!"_ Sam clapped her hands slowly together and shook her head in feigned amazement. "You had my life all mapped out, did you? Only problem with your little _experiment_ is you're just as delusional as _that,"_ she gestured to the corner Elizabeth had slinked back into, scathed by the doctor's scalding words, "thinking you know Jason and I, better than we know ourselves, expecting us to fall for **_stupid_** ploys - like mindless guinea pigs! We're not your puppets! We don't fall in line and obey orders or manipulations," that time she answered the anger running through her to chuck the doctor at the shoulders using both hands, full force, watching her crash backwards into the bed, startling everybody in the room who either gasped, took a step forward, or jerked their head up at attention, "from **_nobody!"_**

Quick to pull her into his arms, Jason held Sam to him and spun her to place his body between her and Robin, who hadn't moved from where she'd crashed to the bed.

"Get off me, Jason!" Her anger was seething at being restrained, the thought of the confusion and irreparable damage the fallout from the scheme could've caused if her son had lain eyes on his father's lookalike, fueling that anger to extreme heights. There were photos all over the penthouse that Sam had always kept close for Danny, making sure he knew who his father was from before he could even understand. That someone who supposedly loved Jason, who left town under the context of giving Danny his father back, could try to do something so underhandedly destructive and painful - no care or thought to the consequences for the innocent…in the name of what… _jealousy?_ **_"Get off me!"_**

"No!" He squeezed her closer then stood them still. "She's confused, Sam - that's all."

"She sounded pretty sure of her motives to me, and I'm getting damn sick of backing down from your crazy exes, having to _understand_ and _forgive_ everything, while you excuse their horrid behavior and let them get away with murder!" When he still wouldn't let go, she squeezed her hands to wriggle between them and push hard at him. "Let go of me, Jason - don't make me slug you too!"

Refusing to let her go, knowing Robin was no match for her and afraid she'd end the day in jail, or on the run from a murder charge, Jason moved his legs to walk her still tightly in his arms to the far corner and away from the melee.

"You're right…I take up for them. They get in over their heads, so I help where I can…but never again at the expense of you. All I care about is that this stops here and doesn't touch you and Danny! I'm not going to let you end up behind bars, when we can put a simple end to it all right now." He rested his head to the side of hers, trying desperately to soothe her. "Please just calm down."

Against her will, Sam could feel herself starting to calm, the presence of his arms surrounding her always effective in that respect, despite the anger she wanted to unleash to her heart's content…which made her suddenly angrier, pushing harder this time to break from his hold. Storming away from him, she fired in the direction of the doctor, ignoring the other occupants in the room that had grown increasingly smaller.

"Funny you're so pissed off at the rest of us when the man who swore he loved you more than anyone in this world and was equally clueless to your predicament, gets a pass! **_Jason_** , should've come for you? Where was your gallant surgeon? Where's your outrage that the so called love of your life didn't go scouring the globe, searching for you, long before I entered the picture? Your own _mother,_ the superspy, bought some cockamamy story about you needing space, away from your daughter and your home, so soon after your first abduction - and you want to lay everything at **_our_** feet? Just what does it say that **_nobody_** went looking, huh?"

"Sam - stop!" She was flashing off his repeated attempts at holding her back and he could sense she was at her limit, even with him, but this wouldn't help.

"Stop what, Jason? Defending myself against this crazy bitch? Asking the tough questions? Telling her the **_truth?_** Why? Because she loved you once, so you'll defend her for life?" When her nostrils flared with the force of the anger in the throws of explosion, Sam willed herself down some. "You get one from me…" right index finger jerking hotly, she emphasized her words, "… ** _ONE!_** Come near me or my family with your madness again and I'll rip your throat out, I swear it!" Without waiting to hear a response, she cut from hateful, biting eyes, flashing off Jason once more, in an abrupt exit from the stifling room.

Carly scoffed as she watched Sam storm out, then smacked Jason on the arm, "She's right - you keep standing up for these two, and I've never known what you see in either of them."

"What he sees in _us?"_ Robin flared and straightened up fully, her longstanding dislike for the blond in full effect at the hypocrisy she remembered well. "What's he ever seen in _you?_ Lying cheat who use the men you were calculating enough to latch onto to climb their backs, while lying on yours to get what they had! You used your mother's husband then tossed him out like yesterday's bathwater when you were done…you used AJ and his child to get his own _brother_ to hate him…Jax was only good for as long as it took you to get his hotel and make Sonny jealous…and to this day you're using Jason and Sonny to make yourself seem important…so tell me, bitch…what do they see in _you?"_

"Someone who stuck around when the going got tough and put her ass where her mouth is…not run off to Paris or wherever, 'cause she couldn't take the heat she started in the kitchen!" This time Sonny couldn't stop her, as the incited anger pushed Carly forcibly past him to face the doctor, who wasn't backing down either. "Still perched on your high horse, dishing out judgements and punishments - only you _still_ aren't shit! You weren't shit then, and you sure aren't shit now! You thought you owned Jason…'til you showed him your true colors and got bitched out about shit that had nothing to do with you! Even now - you're pissed because he didn't hunt your scent through memory loss to rescue you from your own damn trap. Who the hell told you to go anywhere with a crazy Cassadine by yourself anyway, huh? Mad, Jason didn't show the proper servitude for you going off to rescue him by your lonesome - like, who the hell asked you to?"

"My conscience, that's what! Ever heard of one? Because I'm pretty sure you've never met yours!"

"Robin, that's enough! Don't take it out on Carly because you're mad at me - focus on me…we can fix this."

"Really? Just how do you propose we do that?"

"Yes, Jason…" Carly couldn't wait to hear. "Pray tell how you plan to dial down crazy that's hellbent on destroying everything you love?"

"She's not going to do that! Right, Robin…this is over, right?" When she pursed her lips and stared him down, Jason shook his head at her stubbornness, "This isn't you - we both know that! You made your point - you made me see how I hurt you - maybe even took our friendship for granted a little bit…but this is over now. You'll send him back to where you found him and Sam and Danny will be left alone, you understand?" He knew his voice took on a hard line and as much as he didn't want to be that way with someone he owed so much to, if there was the slightest chance she would consider going after Sam again…

"I don't take orders from you, Jason." She knew it was all but over…they'd been found out and she would need to come up with a new plan to get what she wanted…but nobody would tell her to end it before she was damn well ready.

"No?" Getting annoyed now at how rigid she was being, Jason could feel the calm turning deadly when his voice fell to a whisper, "I will protect my family, same as you feel you need to protect yours. **_Do not_** make me have to!"

"Or what?" Feeling reckless and angry, she was goading what she knew was dangerous, but not caring enough to heed the inner caution egging at her insides. "What will you do - make me disappear again? Funny how that seems to have lost its edge with me. I guess you're left in captivity enough, it starts to become second nature! Do your worse, Jason - you don't _begin_ to scare me!"

"Then you've gotten even more stupid in your absence!" Carly was right at Jason's shoulder, sneering at the woman she never could stand for more than a minute. "You threaten anyone in his family and he'll make you _wish_ you'd stayed a prisoner - your dumb ass used to know enough to know _that!"_

Jason didn't relish threatening her, but he would protect his loved ones at all cost…just as he was certain she would too. "Your little girl still needs you, Robin! Emma doesn't deserve for you to be away from her any longer, while you're harboring a grudge and exacting vengeance against your friends. Don't do it for me, or for anyone here…do it for Emma! Think about your little girl!"

"Don't talk about her!"

When she spun her back to him and walked to the opposite end of the room to cross her arms across her body, he knew he'd hit possibly the only nerve left. "She's your reason for living, remember? I know better than anybody how much that little girl means to you, Robin…how long you prayed for her. Go home. Give this up and go home to Emma." He neared where she stood, then hesitated before adding a last, subtle warning, "We're all going to leave this here, and go home. If you don't…" he let his voice trail to make his point unmissable. "Go home, Robin." Then he too left the room to follow his own advise, needing to find his wife, who was right then somewhere angry and hurting.

Carly watched Jason leave then faced Sonny with a quizzical look, her hand raising in question. "He just left! Just like that - he's not going to do anything? He just left them!"

Sonny had been rubbing his jaw in thought, his head bent, one hand in a front pocket, while he'd listened and agreed with Jason.

"Why wouldn't he? He's right…it's over. Robin made a mistake…and now she's going to go be a mother to that sweet little girl waiting at home for her." He stared pointedly at the cold one returned his way, then finished addressing Carly. "We need to do the same. Come on, let's go."

"Sonny, we can't just leave! They should pay for…"

"For what, Carly? Nothing happened."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's true. What happened? Some guy showed up, confused about who he was for awhile, saved my life, and as it turns out, he's been looking out for my little sister when I didn't even know she needed looking after." He gave her a look that weakened her rising objection, reaching an hand out to prod her gently towards the door, "Leave it alone. Let's go."

Knowing she was outnumbered had never meant to Carly she had to give in…now was no different. Following his lead, she huffed towards the door, warning the doctor as she left, "This is far from over!"

Stopping at the doorway, Sonny left parting words first to Robin, "It's done," both a promise and a warning to let sleeping dogs lie…though deep in the pit of his stomach he had a feeling they wouldn't. His eyes travelled to the bed's occupant, who was laying fully back against the pillows watching him warily. "You did good…by my little sister, and by me. When you're up to it, come see me. We need to talk about your longterm plans." Robin's scoff went unheeded as he left without looking at her again, praying that she would use the smarts he knew she possessed to leave things where they were, but feeling in his gut that they hadn't danced the last tango on that card. With a sigh, he pulled Carly with him from the room reeking of hatred.


	51. Chapter 51

After being home for an hour, Sam found herself still too worked up to be still or productive, so she donned some running gear, strapped her phone to her arm and plugged in the headset, then led Captain through lightening laps around Danny's favorite park closeby the penthouse. Black running shoes hit the pavement so hard she found herself full grimace at one point, conjuring the Flash, bolts at his heels, as she zoomed past two other joggers her fourth time around the track, Captain keeping faithful pace alongside. When her chest burned and her air passage threatened to burst open, she pushed for another lap before slowing to a jog, slowly allowing her breathing to even out, barely turning her head in recognition when someone fell in line next to her.

"Are you running _to_ , or _from_ , whoever you want to kill?"

When there was no response but a slight increase in speed, he hastened the pace to keep up. "It's not me, is it?" Her only answer was to speed up some more, a clear indication that she wasn't interested in conversation…but if he let Sam McCall go everytime she ignored him…

"Hey, slow down, will you? How am I going to win you back if you give me a heart attack before I even pull out my best moves?"

Her sudden halt caught him by surprise, pushing him past before he realized she was stopped and bent over at the waist, panting with her hands braced against her knees, where she looked to be studying the top of her running shoes.

"They say you shouldn't stop abruptly like that - slows your heartbeat too quickly." He was huffing between words, trying desperately to appear cool, while his heart burst from his chest, watching her straighten to walk back in the direction they'd just run. He caught up to her finally, totally relieved she'd slowed to a walk he could now sustain. "Who's got you in this foul mood? Wait - don't tell me - one guess."

She wasn't even going to pretend to entertain his light banter - teasing when she just wanted to run with her dog, the only male she felt like being around at that moment.

"What do you want, Lucky?"

"Well, at least you're talking to me…not quite the welcome I was hoping for, but words…I'll take any!"

"This is not a good time."

"Why? What did that idiot do now?"

"We don't talk about Jason."

"Fair enough. No great loss, if you ask me, and see - we both agree he's an idiot." A cold look wiped the beginning of a grin from his face before it could take form. "Change of subject then…what can I do to see that gorgeous smile?"

"I mean it - it's not a good time."

"Yes, you said that. Trouble is, I'm genetically incapable of leaving a damsel in distress. It's the darnest thing, but if I try to, my throat clamps up, I break out into hives and cold sweats, and my feet, they actually plant to the ground. No lie."

She knew he was trying to make her smile but it was honestly the last thing she felt like doing. "That is literally the dumbest horseshit I've ever heard and if it's meant to be charming, it's not. It's actually making me more annoyed than I already am, so please cut it out."

"Ouch! I admit the material needs work but, ouch!"

Denouncing the faked hurt with no acknowledgment, Sam asked a question serious to her heart. "Don't you get sick of this cesspool we keep taking turns in? I mean, seriously - why do you want me in your bed again? Do you even realize that we have all slept together at this point, and that we just keep passing around one to the other, to rinse and repeat, consistently? Doesn't it make you sick to think about?"

"Sam, what is going on? You really are in a bad mood!"

"Bad mood? Lucky, we switch partners, profess it's this everlasting, undying love, each and every time - like how is that _possible_? If it's so special, we only get to feel it once, right?" Not waiting for an answer to a question not really needing one, she went on with the fiery rant. "Then we inevitably grow bored or disillusioned and bam - it's switch time again. What the hell is that? I mean, if two people are really meant for each other and they connect in that once in a lifetime way the first time, why doesn't it last? How do we end up swapping out for the next, the minute it gets a little complicated or messy? What the hell kind of soulmate bullshit is that?"

"What happened to you?"

"The same damn thing that always happens - haven't you been listening? I keep having to go round and round with the same people, doing the same dance over the same man, over an over again, and he gives the same excuses and plays the same _personal hero_ each and every time, for each and every one of them. What is that?"

"Okay, I know we're talking about Jason, but who is he defending now?"

"Who is he _always_ defending? No, wait - I take that back. It's not always the same damsel - they do take turns - and he does take a breather between protecting each one to give me five seconds, before the other needs his broad, readily available shoulders again."

Still trying to put her rambling pieces together, Lucky lined up the usual suspects. "Alright - we know he cut Elizabeth off at the knees recently, so this is about Carly? What kind of trouble is my very colorful cousin in this time?"

"You're missing one."

He was just about to ask who, when she shook her head and took off again, the full run telling the vast amount of energy she still had left…more than he obviously had on a full tank, so he held back and had to settle for watching the woman and her dog make the track their own. So, Jason Morgan was at it again…off being the hero to another, while his greatest prize was left feeling vulnerable and unattended. A lesser man would find it the perfect time to strike. As he watched her arms sway in tandem to lightning legs using wide, steady strides to eat up the pavement, her long, dark ponytail swaying with the wind at her back, he started to feel less and less that man. Dare he believe his ears that sounded like she was finally fed up with the whole mess and was ripe for something new? Had Morgan finally outdone his knighthood and lost that irritating shine? Well, well!

She wasn't home. A brisk search of the penthouse revealed it empty of the inhabitants who made it special, leaving Jason acutely aware and feeling their gaping absence. Reaching in his pocket for the phone, he checked once more, knowing there was no missed call or text because he'd done the same thing just minutes before, but hoping anyway. Sam in complete radio silence was good for no-one…not for him - the cause - not for anyone who crossed her path when she was this mad.

Taking a deep breath before walking onto the terrace, he surveyed the harbor as he tried to think of where she might be. He thought of calling Alexis to check, but had a feeling she wouldn't have gone near their son with the kind of anger she'd left with, and not wanting to have to field a million questions when he needed to be searching for her, he decided against that option. With a sigh, he looked down at the peaceful harbor that usually served to calm his heated brain, spinning from it when it failed miserably, to head back inside and up the stairs again. This time he noticed the jeans and tee she'd worn earlier, resting atop the hamper in the bathroom. She been there and gone, but where? Stopping in the doorway, Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Think. She was pumped and angry, geared for a fight, frustrated at not finding one, and now she wasn't home. Opening his eyes after a minute, he moved briskly to the closet to check her running shoes. Her favorite black ones were gone. Of course! She needed to expel that energy!

Quickly changing into workout gear, Jason raced down the stairs two at a time and grabbed the keys from the desk, knowing he'd find her at the gym, beating something silly. He was stopped at the light at the corner when his eyes roved to the left of traffic, falling instantly on the lone figure in navy and red, circling the track, her faithful companion at her heels. Sam! A minute later he'd pulled to a park in the lot and was jogging up to fall inline beside her, earnestly ignoring the man he'd eyed seated in the stands hungrily watching her run. That fucking buzzard!

Silently, Jason fell in jog with his lady love, who didn't even turn her head to acknowledge his appearance, but he cared only that he'd found her at long last. Easily, they jogged the track in silence for the next two laps that gradually increased in speed until they both were at a full run, and still he said nothing, silently taking her every angry stride that screamed her deserved frustration.

Lucky watched them curiously from the bench, mesmerized despite his ire at the sight. Damn Morgan was like a beacon, honing in on her everywhere, foiling yet another chance he'd lined her up prime and ready for the pouncing. As he watched the man take easy, steady strides at a pace that had left him near dead, his hatred edged a notch. Of course he'd be able to keep up with her - big, bounding galoot looked right in place, effortlessly matching her energy for all it was worth, while he sat waiting for her to come down. Of course it would be as easy for him as everything and everyone else! Lord forbid he ever had to work as hard at anything as the rest of them. At least he was also getting the silent treatment…but as he watched them pass him to start another lap, he couldn't help envying the picture they presented, strides aligned, heads held high, elbows flying back and forth in sync as they circled together, even the silence between them seeming to speak a language of its own. Lucky could feel his hatred for the man up a notch and his admiration grow despite it too. He was a plague, whom everything and every woman fell to way too easily, but there was something still very magnetic about the guy that even he could see. Shit! Realizing he was done there for the day, he left them alone and made his way home. A cannon ball couldn't damage what lived between those two, whether they could see it or not.

Finally starting to feel tired, Sam slowed to an easy jog for her last lap, feeling him match her pace yet again. He'd been doing that ever since he fell in line next to her - following her lead to speed up when she did and slow down just the same, silent, not using one word to break the thoughts she'd been pushing around inside her heated head. Every single time she'd gotten mad enough at him to punch him through the hemisphere, he'd pulled something like this…something that proved he knew her like no-one knew her. He'd found her, had fallen in line while she expelled the energy she'd wanted to at Robin's face, and had kept silent while doing it, somehow sensing her need for quiet to work through her thoughts. Nobody else knew her like that. She could talk up a storm and ramble like any weed and he'd always listen, but when she needed quiet, he'd known and given that too.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"You can't really mean to hire him, Sonny!" They sat in the back of the towncar that whooshed them through town on the way to drop her off at the MetroCourt, Carly still pretty worked up from not being able to take her frustrations out on the deserving little witch. "He tried to take over Jason's life - what makes you think he won't do it again when you give him a ticket on the inside?"

"He's not that guy."

"You have no way of knowing what guy he is or isn't! You don't know the first thing about him - except that he's a con!"

"I know a little bit more than that…he did save my life, Carly." Sonny looked out the tinted window, his mind racing with thoughts along the same line as hers but with a certainty that there was something trustworthy in the man too. "He just needs a chance, like everybody else."

"But why do you have to be the one to give it to him? Our loyalty is to Jason - not some stranger…and definitely not that prissy little bitch!"

Closing his eyes against the venom, Sonny sighed, knowing he had to be careful if he wanted to stay out of a fight of his own now. "I know you'll never like Robin, Carly and you have good reason…but I do…and I have good reason too. Just like I have good reason to trust this guy." He patted her leg and allowed his hand to stroke the fire down where it laid, "Leave business to me. I make those decisions, remember? I know what I'm doing."

"Usually you do, but I'm telling you, Sonny - I have a bad feeling about those two and I think you're making a mistake trusting them. I don't know what you ever saw in that shrew and now that she's shown you she can't be trusted you still place her on a pedestal! Why?"

"She's not herself right now, but she'll come around. She's a good person, Carly."

"Oh, really? That good person sent a stranger to infiltrate your organization to out your best friend and do God knows what else! She wasn't thinking about you or your business when she was plotting revenge, now was she?"

The car pulled up to the lobby entrance and Max walked back to open Carly's door, taking her hand to help her step out, where she straightened the creases in the off-white pencil skirt and faced Sonny, who was watching her keenly. "Mark my words, Sonny - those two are not done, and if you don't do something about them - I will!" She swung from the car and sashayed to the double doors the two doormen swung open for her to enter.

"Carly…" Sonny looked out the rolled down window of the car door Max had just closed, admiring the statuesque beauty that swung to look back at him, angry Carly being as ravishing to him as every other fiery part of her. "Leave it alone…I'll handle it." He watched her huff and turn back to disappear through the doors that were closed at her retreating back, Max standing outside the car doing the same. "She's not leaving it alone."

"No, boss - she's not."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jason followed as Sam walked over to his SUV, where he stepped ahead of her to reach the door, opening it for her to step in, then doing the same for Captain in the back. Still no words passed between them, driving back to the penthouse, where he followed her up the stairs and into the shower after filling Captains water bowl and leaving him lapping it up in the kitchen.

Reaching for her shampoo, he waited for her to finish the trail of her hands through wet strands and push her head back from the pounding jets to brace her arms to the wall in front of her. Lathering slowly, he worked gentle hands back to her scalp, feeling her head move beneath in the direction of each slow, deep massage. But he didn't stop there, not until the entire, enticing, voluptuousness before him had been bathed clean of all traces of her run and the events that preceded it. When she'd been loofahed from neck to pinky toe, she made it his turn, moving behind him as the jets beat them from every direction from ceiling and walls, to return the cleaning.

Stepping from the shower, Jason held her favorite Terry robe open, wrapping her tightly in his arms to rock her gently, before cinching the cords at the waste and reaching for his own towel she used to dry him and knot at his hips. He watched her as she wrapped wet tresses in a towel and walked from the bathroom, where still no words had passed between them, yet their ease had returned.

She led the way down the stairs to the kitchen, where he followed and took the bottle she held out from the fridge, the cool water gliding his throat after he'd watched her take the sips he'd fed her first. When she grabbed the fruit from the freezer and turned to the blender, he sidled up behind her, covered her hand to guide it to fall to the counter, and pushed his hardening up against her ass for her to feel him.

Gasping from a thrill that tingled a bolt through her body at the feel of him, hard at all angles against the back of her, Sam gripped the counter and relished in the feel of his fingers unwrapping the towel to free her damp hair and dig into her neck and shoulders, working out kinks that had her knotted all over. When the magic of those fingers kneaded their way to her upper back, she signed and lolled her head forward, pushing her ass back in invitation, then gasped when he spun her to face him. Eyes that were still closed at the pleasure coursing through her, flew open when she was hoisted to the counter and her legs wrangled wide for his body to slide between, both hands sliding in place to grip her neck to hold her to his gaze.

She was so beautiful! Jason's heart throbbed erratically at the sight of her, unassuming and bared to him, her robe falling open to tease at his treasure beneath. She was everything. She had to know that he would die without her, that no world could ever be enough for him without her in it, that no life would ever be worth living without her at his side. She had to know she was **_it_** for him. She had to know he could never love any old flame or any mistake, in the complete and ultimately fulfilling way in which he loved only her. When the force of everything he was feeling blazed a lightning through his blood, his fingers gripped at the base of her neck, his head on a level with hers, his breath inches from where it mingled sweetly with the intoxicating her.

"You know, right?" Blue eyes burned a urgent fire through her when his hand gripped desperately to the back of her neck, holding her locked by breath as he sought with everything in him. She knew. Deep in the heart where only he lived, will forever live - she knew he wanted her, craved her, loved her more than any other. Deep in a place where old haunts, old jealousies and rivalries had all died gruesome deaths, she knew his heart was hers and hers alone. She knew.

Trailing his lower lip with a slow moving finger that followed the burn of her eyes locked upon its strength and desire, she bent her head to afford her anxious tongue the taste it desperately craved, following her finger's trail from one corner to the other, to dive between his lips in search of home, finding it at long last at the meeting of his tongue eagerly on its way to her. Grabbing hungry hold, Jason grunted with arms that pulled her in, one at the nape of her neck to deepen the kiss that fed him life, the other at her delicious hip on the counter to pull her fully onto his craving shaft that bored her all the way through. Sweeping her from the counter, he spun towards the place he'd die happy to be holed up with her alone.

But suddenly the bedroom was a mile away. Easing her to glide his body, he knew he felt a surface at his thigh, heard a muffled crash that sounded like a chair being tossed somewhere near them and feeling his hand recoiling from tossing something, but the echo in his brain made all hazy, her body the only thing in acute colors, her hand circling him to stroke softly, then leaving as she turned from him to brace the table and thrust her ass where her hand had just left.

Gasping out loud, his need desperate and humongous, Jason gripped her hips and pushed, grunting again when her walls grated his taut skin that throbbed its way inside her, the sounds emitting from her, stoking the animal taking him over. She was fire and he hungered for her, the warmth of her insides pulling him forward to meet her back, his hands inching forth to fill with the full globes that had nurtured his son, that gave him so much pleasure from the sight and feel of them. Pulling her back into him, he stabbed her pussy and her heart, his lips finding the spot at her nape that tasted like heaven as one hand inched down her front to find her sensitive nub. No, heaven was where he lived inside her, that place that called him to thrust everything into her, again and again, giving more than he took. When her arm reached back to wrap his neck and pull him even closer, Jason died in her depths, finding her right leg to lift it to the table beneath them, angling her to take everything he had to give.

Sam couldn't feel her toes. She knew something kept her planted to the ground, but the only thing she could feel was the big, throbbing rod spreading fire through the walls of her insides that built a lava in her belly, giant hands kneading her flesh and transporting her to the clouds. The explosion that blew through her took her by surprise, wrenching a cry from her gut to wash his ear at her mouth that had been scratching her teeth across its line. She screamed his name when her grip on the table's edges failed to absorb the dynamo blasting through her, the feel of his increased slams into her body driving the mad heat all the way to her brain. When the dam burst again, she clenched her walls so tight he stilled and cried out, his own break drowning her insides awash with his seed, his jerks against her body and his fingers stroking her nub, enough to send her crashing over once again, his grunts mixing with her cries to break the silence throughout their home.

Who needed words, when the beautiful language their symbiotic bodies and like minds spoke to each other was so deliriously, distinctly unique.


	52. Chapter 52

"Why am I here?"

"I need a PI."

"For?"

"Oh, just sit…and stop acting like we're enemies!"

"It wasn't so long ago that _was_ the case."

"Ha, ha…we've come a long way from pulling each other's hair over Jason…I'd dare say you're more like a sister to me now."

"Number one - I don't pull hair, I punch faces…and number two, _sisters_ is a stretch - stop it!"

Tossing the tiny, lighted plastic squeeze ball she'd been using to work her fingers before Sam walked in, Carly watched her sidestep contact so it bounced off the far wall and rolled beneath a table. "Just take a seat and help me figure this out?"

"Figure what out?" Sam allowed the teasing smile to wane when she noticed how very worried and upset Carly appeared. "Okay, you've got my attention - what is it?"

"What do you mean? **_Sam?"_** When Sam pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders in puzzled query to Carly's frustration, Carly continued huffily, "We have to do something about them! Obviously we can't leave it to Sonny and Jason, because they're under some kinda spell that keeps them blind to this chick's black heart - so **_we_** need to do it!"

"Do _what?"_

Carly leant back in the chair and cleared her throat, "That's the part I haven't quite figured out yet. You can help me decide." Pushing forward again, she leant across the desk in plea, "You do know we have to do _something_ , right? We can't let them get away with what they tried and what I know in my gut that bitch is still rife to do to us! We have to stick together, Sam…we have to protect Sonny and Jason from themselves!"

"Okay, Captain Stealth…before you go all diabolical on me…what makes you so certain it hasn't been squashed like Jason thinks?"

"Don't ask me that! You were there, same as I was, and you were mighty mad because you saw, same as I did, that she's a conniving shrew, who's not gonna just stop because they asked! We may have found her out before she executed her real plan, but I know firsthand what that little underhanded bitch is capable of. I know this was just the beginning, no matter how much Sonny and Jason _think_ they've convinced her to suddenly play nice."

"I don't want to have anything to do with her, Carly. If I near her again I'm likely to poke her judgmental eyes out! Can't have Jason getting mad at me for maiming his pet doctor."

"Since when are you afraid of Jason?"

"Whatever…we can't go after her without proof. What if she really is over her little tantrum? If we do something to hurt her they'll never forgive us."

"But that's where your skills come in. Your investigations have already turned up so much - just keep going. Find something we can use to get that bitch run out of town once and for all."

 _"_ _Run out of town?_ She has family here…we don't own Port Charles…we can't tell her where to live."

"What? When did you get so soft? Don't tell me you're looking forward to seeing her everywhere you go…everytime you take Danny out for ice cream, or drop off your drycleaning? Can you imagine?"

"It won't be any worse than running into the other snakes slithering around here every day. Shit, if I was chasing people out of town I'd start with that vile bitch, who's constantly after my life."

"Elizabeth?" Carly scoffed and rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh, please, that non threat has been so neutralized you need a new word for it. The way _both_ Jasons totally ignored her the other night…I think it's finally sunk in how irrelevant she is - you can see it all over her. I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for her - did you hear she made a play for the con too, and got shot down like a skeet? Right outside of Kelly's before everybody! Even a fake Jason has no use for her!"

Sam looked over at Carly, silent as she listened and pictured them together, pleased in the next to find she felt very little about it anymore, one way or the other. Whatever demon she'd fallen prey to that had made her jealous and envious of that relationship during that very dark period of her life, had long evaporated just as it had appeared…quietly and with little notice. Inconsequence. The word echoed each time the woman appeared or someone mentioned her to Sam. Total inconsequence.

"Okay, look - you're about to do something harebrained unless I intervene, so you got it…I'll keep looking to see what else I uncover. Just keep the wacky schemes to a minimum until you hear from me."

Allowing the victorious smile to break free, Carly slapped the desk with both palms and rose from her seat to join Sam, who was already standing, ready to leave.

"Fantastic! They won't know what hit them, and Sonny and Jason will see I was right!"

Moving to the door as she shook her head and smiled, Sam glanced back and jeered, "Sure, Carly…that's what it's about…proving you're always right," then swung open the door and stepped through, "I'll see you in a few hours, Colombo."

As she watched her friend leave, Carly smiled a triumph that emitted from an inner glee. Those two, stubborn as they were, had come so far from months before when they'd both been tap-dancing around each other, afraid to admit to what they both felt, blind to what destiny had always had in store for them. She was so happy to see they'd gotten out of their own way and found the path back to their happiness again, despite obstacle after crippling obstacle. Nobody brought out in Jason what Sam did…and vice versa…and it was good to see them finally remember and accept that.

Twenty minutes later, Sam pushed the door to her mom's house wider, which was already ajar due to the traffic going in and out. When she found an empty living room, she made her way to the kitchen, her eyes immediately falling to a picture hub of activity outside the large kitchen window. Alexis and Molly were seated at the kitchen table, stuffing toys and treats into colorful drawstring party bags. "What's this - didn't the planner say she had the goodie bags covered?" She dropped into the chair next to Molly and grabbed a chocolate covered almond from the bowl before her sister.

"She did." Alexis finished closing a bag and rested it on the pile between them. "These are for the scavenger hunt. Those are always fun - no matter how modern you kids are now."

"I wouldn't know - don't have any childhood references to draw from." Sam popped the almond and grinned glibly at her mom, who always fell for the playful ploy.

"My poor little orphan Annie…I really screwed up with you."

"Yes, but now you get a do over with the best part of me. Where is he?"

"Upstairs with Lucas. They have a surprise of their own I'm told - no girls allowed."

"Danny's words." Molly grinned at her big sister and added a bag to the pile. "I can't believe my nephew is another year older already - he was _just_ born!"

 ** _"_** ** _You_** can't? He's almost as tall as I am now - I miss being able to lift my baby and walk him around the penthouse in my arms, telling him stories and singing him lullabies. All he wants to hear now is the theme song to Star Wars…I want my baby back…today moves me one year closer to losing him to the world." She reached for another almond and rued, "He's been spending so much time here, and at Monica's lately too - I miss him."

Alexis stuffed a bag with hotrods and shook her head, "Don't even think of cutting my grandma time - we've been having a ball. Besides, you've been extremely busy with the company taking off and putting your lives back together. I much rather he's here with me than with a babysitter somewhere."

"Yea, Sam - it takes a village to raise a child - haven't you ever heard that old saying? It's more than just a saying, actually…it traces back to African heritage, where it was believed an entire village was responsible for teaching a child life's lessons. In Swahili, for example, ' _Asiye funzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu,'_ is a proverb that means, 'h _e who isn't taught by the mother is raised by the world.'_

"Really, Molly? So if I don't make the time to teach my kid manners and compassion, he'll learn from this shitty world to be a pig? Way to make me feel better about not spending enough time with him already!" She watched Molly duck from the almond tossed at her head, grinning as she came back up in her seat.

"That's one translation but it also means, you can't be there every minute of his life, so the people you entrust him with, get to pitch in and help mold him on his journey. It's a good thing. We're family and we're all here for Danny…wouldn't have it any other way." She rose from the chair to throw her arms around her big sister, hugging her defensively as she chuckled to the jangle of the silver bracelets she wore on both wrists, "And we're always here for you too, just like you've been for me my whole life. We're our own village, where Danny couldn't be any safer! I love you, sissy!"

Alexis watched the sight that always warmed her heart - her girls related to each other in a way that all sisters should, and Sam smiling through mock irritation, assuring her baby sister she loved her too, made her heart melt, expressly missing Kristina, who had spent the week in New York city but was expected to make it home for the party. The whole family was supposed to be together on days like this very special one.

"Where's Jason?"

"On a case. He'll be here soon."

"Let's hope so." Alexis hadn't realized she'd mumbled the words out loud until…

"Mom!" Molly looked chagrined, her eyes darting from her mother to her sister, who was eyeing her cooly.

"What? I only mean, Jason tends to get too caught up in whatever act of heroism he's performing at the moment to remember little things like parties."

"Nothing is more important to Jason than Danny, and being here for the first birthday he's had since he found out Danny's his son? Just stop it, Mom."

"Sorry - I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yes, you did. But you're wrong. He'll be here." _If one of his conquests doesn't develop another_ crisis _only he can solve_.

To silence the sneaking demons and her mother, Sam rose from the table and walked out the open back door to stroll the yard that had been transformed into a virtual reality of space travel and time warps. Even the bouncehouse was in the shape of a huge spaceship, flanked on either side by a staff member dressed as a Storm Trooper. The long table near the back gate was laden with everything from lightsabers, to sunglasses with pictures of Han Solo and Princess Leia, to various character ringpops, face masks, and neon lighted noise makers. The treat stand in one corner had R2-D2 cups of popcorn, double D'Qar cookies shaped like the moon with chocolate icing between them, even little bottles of water with Chewbacca labels, resting in buckets of ice, at each end of the table. The centerpiece was a multi-tiered cupcake stand with various flavors, topped with grey icing and edible lightsaber candies. Bring on the sugar coma.

 _Jedi Daniel,_ printed in large black letters, glared from white streamers that lined every table and gleaned on four main banners at the perimeter of the huge backyard, with tons of black, grey, and white balloons stringed tightly on three sides of each one. Even the garbage cans strewn strategically around were shaped like R2-D2 and circled with balloons.

Laughing out loud, Sam threw her head back when the DJ, set up in the corner near the bouncehouse, addressed her over the microphone to the bounding sounds of Prince through the speakers. Dancing her way to the booth, Sam bobbed her head and clapped her hands together in time to the music, joining to belt the lyrics, _"we're gonna party like it's 1999."_

"Best DJ in town…you have a skill to fall back on if the GH thing doesn't work out."

Bringing the microphone back up, Brad grinned at his soon to be sister-in-law, "With you as my opening act - can't lose!"

Staff dressed as SE8 droids, milled around getting the last details in place minutes before the army of little boys and girls were expected to fill the backyard.

"Isn't this wonderful? Danny's gonna love it!" Molly exited the backdoor with Alexis in tow and they proceeded to stash the stuffed bags around the yard, in hedges and flowerbeds, behind rocks, in tree trunks and even taped beneath the benches. Watching the whole thing come together, Sam knew her baby was about to have the best party of his little life so far, surrounded by people who made his happiness an everyday mission…and she couldn't feel more blessed. Pleased, she turned to the house to find him, anxious to impart his hundredth birthday kiss for the day…girls allowed or not!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 ** _"_** ** _Jason - Jason - help me!"_**

Before he knew what was happening, Elizabeth ran full speed into his arms, completely panic-stricken, clinging tightly to his t-shirt with both hands. Caught by surprise, Jason looked down at her distraught state, then around the docks for the source of alarm. Seeing none, he started to comfort her, purely out of habit, then caught himself in the action that's never led him anywhere good. Easing gently from the deathgrip she had on his body, he asked her calmly, "What's this?"

Although she couldn't handle the distrust in his voice on top of his rejection, she knew Jason would never ignore her pain.

 ** _"He attacked me - he just came out of nowhere and grabbed me from behind."_** Forcing her way back into the arms he was still trying to move her from, she worked the frantic feelings full tilt. "I was so scared! I was there again - that awful night in the park!" She gripped tighter when he tried again to ease her from him. "You know how horrific…oh, Jason, please don't let him hurt me!"

"Let who hurt you? Elizabeth, there's no-one here."

She couldn't stop him this time, he was forceful when he backed her from him to hold her at arm's length, despite her efforts to move back in. Looking behind her frantically, she saw what he did - no-one!

"He was there - he had me by my arms and I wanted to scream, but I couldn't move. I was so scared!"

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't see a face?"

"No! Yes - but - I don't, I didn't recognize him. I don't know who he is. Jason, please - don't let him hurt me!"

"Okay, calm down. There's no-one else here, so if someone was before, he's gone now. You should go on home."

The doubt in his voice, the disbelief looking back at her from eyes that once held so much love, broke her in two.

"You don't believe me? I can't believe you think I'm making this up." She sobbed in dejection. "Jason, please, I need your help."

He wasn't falling for it. "If someone attacked you, you should call the police. I'll see you to the ferry, but then I have to go."

"What could be so important you'd brush me off like this?"

"My family! I'm not missing my son's birthday for anything. If you feel unsafe, call the police."

"The police?" She could not believe how callously he was treating her situation…someone who rode a constant white stallion to her rescue, under any and every circumstance…he really, really was done? Completely? "What good are they? What can they do?"

"I'm told they protect and serve - which is why you pay taxes. Come on, if you don't want to go to the ferry, you can walk with me to Kelly's and call from there - it's on my way."

"And then you're just going to leave me?"

Looking her dead in the eye so there could be no misunderstanding, he nodded and affirmed, "Yes!" Trying to guide her in the direction, but she stood stubbornly in place, which started to irritate him. "You can wait for them there or here - I'm going home."

"Jason, please. Somebody is after me…I'm getting hangup phonecalls and mysterious notes…and now this. I need you."

 ** _"_** ** _Danny,_** needs me! My son, who turned six today." His annoyance - with her, with her drama, with all of Port Charles who'd seen fit to separate him from his heart - was riding damn high at the constant intrusions. "Danny's had **_five_** birthdays that I wasn't present for! **_Five…_** that I missed him blowing out his candles…where I have no idea what he wished for…where Sam had to do it all without me. Wild horses dragging you feet first into your latest crisis, real or imagined, will not get in the way of this one!"

When her heart zinged at his avid proclamation, the welled tears spilled her cheek to run her anguish all the way. "You can just turn your back when my life is in danger?"

"I'm not responsible for your personal safety, Elizabeth. I told you - call the police." Her ready tears edged his annoyance a notch when her attempt at manipulation irked him through, and when she still wouldn't move, he shrugged his arms and stepped past her.

"Jason - you got a minute?"

Stopping in barely masked frustration, Jason stilled to the sound of a voice he could do without hearing tonight…but he'd never ignored her before, and given how volatile she'd proven lately, he probably shouldn't start now. Better to keep your enemies really close…though when exactly he became her enemy was still puzzling to him. Turning to face her, he caught cool indifference behind her eyes, despite the feigned warmth in her words, as she tucked her phone in a pocket.

"Robin. What can I do for you?"

Eyeing Elizabeth curiously, she stopped where Jason did, "I want you to know I heard you the other night. I won't insult you by trying to make you believe all is forgiven, or that things are back the way they used to be between us, but I want you to know that I'm trying."

Something in her words made him believe the exact opposite of what was said.

"That's good to hear. Things should never have deteriorated that far but I'm glad you know it was never intentional, on any of our parts. I'm still here for you."

"You mean that?"

"Of course."

"Then do you mind walking me to my car? I left it on the other side of the park earlier, and it's gotten dark since then. I just can't seem to feel safe anywhere anymore."

"You don't have to explain." Stepping to the side, Jason motioned for her to precede him. "Lead the way."

"I never used to be afraid of walking the streets of my own town, day or night, but after everything…"

"This is unbelievable…" when they both looked back at her, Elizabeth pointed to Robin, "…you'll walk Robin, but me you'll ignore?"

"I offered to do the same for you, Elizabeth…it's your choice to stay put." She was facing Robin, who was eyeing her warily.

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

"Somebody is after me. Jason won't help, and Robin, I'm so scared." She shivered, lips trembling for Robin's benefit, who glanced over to where Jason was checking his phone irritably.

"What do you mean - who's after you?"

"Some man I've never seen before. He just… ** _attacked_** me! And Jason doesn't care!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Looking at the screen in one palm, Sam raised the drink in her hand to drain the cup, eyes glued to the picture on her phone. The number was not one she recognized and she instantly noticed there was no text with it, just the disturbing picture itself, from some unknown source, unmistakably just taken in the twilight of the passing day, showing her man in the clothes she last saw him wearing, only now also with something distasteful held in his arms.

"That's not work, is it?" Alexis handed her a fresh cup and tossed the one she'd just emptied, "Take a night off daughter. Work can wait."

Taking another swig from the new drink, Sam placed the phone back in her pocket and eyed her mother. "I'm not sure what exactly it is." Her eyes trailed back to where her baby was sabering with a classmate and she smiled, "But I don't care at the moment."

Nikolas, who was standing next to Sam, reached out to clunk his plastic cup with hers, "Cheers to that." They smiled at each other and took a sip, looking back to watch the kids at play. Spencer was in the midst of Danny and his friends, rambling excitedly to Emma over something he withdrew from a scavenger find. "They make everything worthwhile."

"They sure do."

"So, where is Jason…he missed half the party already."

Nikolas had to be the fiftieth person who asked that question so far, and Sam was getting sick of answering. Maybe she should write it on a bulletin and place it in the center of the yard - that way no-one would miss it. "He's on his way." Though he should've been there already from the time he'd called to say he was, Sam now knew what was holding him up. But Danny was enjoying every minute of his space odyssey, and nothing else mattered then.

"Good." Nikolas knew her. He could see something was on her mind, something she didn't wish to talk about. "So how're you, Cousin?"

Sparing the briefest look at his concerned face, Sam smiled and looked back at the boys. "Fine. Living the charmed life, can't you tell?"

Smiling at the hint of sarcasm, he went on, needing to know how she really was. "That's good to hear, but really…how are you?"

Another quick glance read the worry in his eyes, and Sam knew the query was genuine. "Really - I'm fine. Busy more than usual, but I'm not complaining - I'm doing what I love to do and my family is healthy and happy. I have no complaints."

"I'm sure if you looked you could find _one?"_

"What's the use of complaining? I'd much rather do something about it."

"About what?"

Sam looked at him again, realizing he was really asking.

"Anything at all. Inaction has never been my style, so if something bothers me I find a way to make it stop…you know that."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Elizabeth gripped the cup between tight fingers as she sat in Kelly's waiting for Lucky. She hated to call him for anything but when Jason wouldn't give her the time of day, she'd had no choice but to walk with them to Kelly's, where he hadn't even watched that she got safely inside, just went on his merry way. Anxious knees bobbed beneath the table as she wracked her brain to figure her way out of this latest mire. She could never tell anyone her role in what was now befalling her. How had _every_ single thing gone so horribly, horribly wrong for her, when she wasn't the one who was supposed to be suffering and miserable right now!

The beep of the phone on the table drew her eyes to the text that turned her blood ice cold!

 _'_ _You set me up! You wanna play? Let's!'_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Stepping through the open back gate, Jason stopped just inside to survey the bustling yard, filled with friends celebrating his little boy, hyped up on sugar, milling against the sound of music and laughing chatter. He'd never been one for parties or packed gatherings, but his chest was threatening to burst with the pride it filled with at the sight. These people had all come together for his son, to rejoice in his birth and laud his existence…aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends…they all took the time to be there, to exalt his special, special, little man.

He watched where Danny was at play, surrounded by his friends and cousins, laughing and happy, zipping multi-colored lightsabers through the night, and it struck Jason once more how powerful his feelings of love and pride and joy were for the little boy who filled him all the way through. He loved him so much! Danny was a part of him…the tiny atom that grew more each day, never losing a light that radiated through his always innocent smile, his dazzling blue eyes, his quiet reservation and sweet disposition. The perfection of the combination of him and the woman he loved, made each day worth living and their lives so very full. The little miracle he once thought would never be, was right where he could hug and hold and breathe him in every day, bestow the love of a father to his son, impart the lessons of life and supply the tools to serve him through its inevitable battles. The little boy who made him smile and laugh with just a gesture or a word, who made his day, simply by being, was the everything every father should aspire. A most precious gift from the one woman who lit his life and gave his love purpose.

When his eyes found where she stood with her cousin and sisters, Jason felt the giant thump in his heart that flipped into a somersault. She was radiant, her smile as bright as the lit night, and as he watched her tuck a dark strand behind a delicate ear, his already full heart bubbled right over. He loved her so damn much! She was perfect to him! Not only the beacon that guided him home, but the hearth that warmed it and the grounding that kept him sane. Kind, sweet, resourceful, cunning, strong, sleek, funny, irreplaceably the most beautiful thing in the world. And she loved him. Despite all the shit he'd brought to her life with the baggage from hell he lugged constantly, she loved him unlike anything he's ever known. What an idiot he'd been, thinking at any time he could've had any life worth living without her. When he thought of each time he'd tried - once for her, once for a son that wasn't even his, once because his damaged brain had lost her…the stark difference between then and the time they spent together, loving, respecting, honoring that rarest, unmatched, uninhibited importance that lived between them…he was urged to knee and thank God she never gave up on him and pray she never would!

With a urge he'd never again fight, his feet moved him to her side, where oblivious to everyone present, his arm circled her waist to pull her slowly to him, his head descending to accommodate lips that hungered to taste her. When he locked her in and drank from her welcome to his kiss, a soft groan left his throat and his hold tightened, as he allowed his kiss to bestow the heavenly feeling of being in her arms at the end of a long, long day that knew no happiness until he'd found his way to her.

"Well…hello to you too." Smiling when she was finally able to take a breath from his sweet, sweet kiss, Sam looked in the face of her heart, her eyes catching instantly the emotions awash in his own…love, adoration, peace, satisfaction…and everything else faded to black.

While she couldn't wait to hear what newest catastrophe, real or contrived, had sent Sleezabeth Webber to his arms and the photo of it, to her phone, for the obvious reasons of making her jealous or angry, or both, she knew she wanted to enjoy her man and their son more. She wanted to cut his cake, to laugh with their friends, to open his presents and die in the joy of seeing his, a helluva lot more. Guess she could wait afterall.


	53. Chapter 53

"A mountain bike, Jason? He's a little young!" Sam couldn't decide which of the conflicting feelings running through her to give top billing. When Jason first wheeled the bike in from the driveway, the parent in her saw only the dangers befalling her baby - toppling over rugged terrain at breakneck speeds…but then his glee at ripping off the big red bow, the sparkling light on his little face when his dad hoisted him to straddle the thing, set off a whole barrage of pride-filled angsty admiration for his bravado. Nothing scared Daniel Morgan, and that terrified and impressed her at the same time.

"He'll grow into it." Smiling at the irony, he soothed the anxiety she was trying silently to quell…having passed on her own fearless gene to their offspring, it sparred with her motherly instincts, clearly tugging her in two different directions. "We'll be careful - right, Danny?"

"Can we try it now, Daddy? Please?" Danny, who had barely nodded his head to Jason's statement, had eyes riveted on the blue bike his outstretched arms could barely reach its handles until he leaned forward eagerly. "Please, Daddy?"

Looking again at the mixed emotions plaguing Sam's eyes, Jason chuckled and patted his son's back. "Let's wait until it's light out. We'll take it for a test run in the morning and show Mommy how cool it is."

"Sam…do something!" Alexis' frantic whisper in her ear echoed Sam's emotions she was trying earnestly to quell.

"Do what, Mom? Stop Jason from giving his son a gift?"

"That's not a gift - it's a deathtrap!"

"Don't be so dramatic…he would never let anything hurt Danny." She believed the words with everything in her, despite being unable to quite hush the worry in her head.

Leaving Danny and his friends to their excited exploration and discovery of every feature of the dirtbike, Jason set to task reassuring Sam's doubts. Taking her hand, he gently shook it between them, roving his thumb across the back. "We'll go at a snail's pace until he learns how to ride it, and I've gotten everything to wrap him up like a Christmas present…helmet, chin guard, knee and elbow pads…he'll be tressed up like Thanksgiving turkey before we go out - everytime!" He shook their joined hands again and bored her worried eyes, "He'll be fine."

She knew that. Smiling through her fear as she shook her head at the most fearless of them all, Sam looked from her ecstatic little boy to the equally happy big one before her, knowing she was outnumbered, but also that she couldn't, and wouldn't, dream of stifling their son's spirit. Knowing she could trust Jason with both their lives, just as she'd always done, gave her more calm!

"That doesn't make _me_ feel any better!" Alexis, seeing her daughter's relent, picked up the rebuttal. "You're both crazy - that's not a safe gift for a six-year-old, and I like my grandson's neck precisely where it is, thank you! Please take that thing away from him!"

Sam, still locked in the blue trance that churned her insides without trying, knew differently. "It's okay, Mom. He'll be with his father. He'll be safe."

"Don't worry, Alexis…" Michael joined them with a drink in one hand and stood next to Alexis as he gestured towards Danny, "…Morgan and I learned to ride with Jason…we couldn't get away with doing anything crazy…and we tried! Guy can be a real buzzkill. Danny's fine - trust me."

Throwing her hands up in frustration, Alexis turned to leave, "When did fear become such a bad thing…it keeps bones intact!" She stalked back to the house, her nerves unable to take the sight of Danny on the monstrous bike she couldn't bear the thought of him getting thrown from, knowing her poor heart was going to have to learn to adjust, given the two daredevils her grandchild had for parents. Neither one knew how to back down from a challenge or a difficult situation, and she supposed now it was only to be expected from their fearless offspring too. "They're all going to be the death of me!"

Sam found it amusing watching her mother mumble to herself as she retreated to the kitchen, though she completely understood her reservations, having to fight through her own. A soft quiet washed over her, which remained, even as Sonny joined them where they stood watching Danny at play. He stopped next to Jason and nodded towards their son, "Nice choice. Did our Brooklyn connect hook you up?"

Jason acknowledged his friend, then turned back to the joyful sight of his son's expressive glee, happy with the choice he'd narrowed the options to. "No, not this time." The wattage of the smile Danny had been wearing all night thrilled him to the heart, reminding him how he wanted his days consumed with making them as happy as they did him, the marvel at the type of joy that filled him from loving them, always the greatest thrill. After a long pause, he turned his attention to something that had gone ignored for too long, facing Sonny to address it finally. "You and I are long overdue a conversation - I know."

Nodding, Sonny shifted in place and glanced at him briefly, then eyed the ground. "Yea, I suppose you're right."

Clearing his throat, Jason pushed through the difficult words he often avoided, emotional being something he painfully evaded as much as humanly possible. "I know I was kind of harsh there for awhile…I forgot our friendship and everything that came along with it and I judged you unfairly in the process." His eyes darted between the man and the hedge behind them before meeting his eyes again. "I'm sorry for that. I hope you know no friendship ever meant more to me…I'm sorry I forgot that again."

With a lump in his throat, Sonny shifted again as his eyes bored the ground at his feet, before lifting once more to meet those of his truest friend. "I know that wasn't you, brother. There will never be anything between us not worthy of forgiveness - you know that. You have chips in this bank that will take longer than either of our lifetimes, to cash. You don't owe me any explanations."

Swallowing past his own lump that formed unexpectedly, Jason thrusted his free hand inside the front pocket of his jeans and turned back to face the party. "So…how's business?"

"Are you really asking, or just being polite?"

"I don't know how to be polite, Sonny."

With a chuckle, Sonny nodded in recollection. "That's right - you don't." Still, he knew his friend and felt his reservations. "What are your plans?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Jason took a drink and allowed the cold beer to wash his throat, then swallowed as his eyes found Sam, where she'd joined a group of moms near the treat stand, her bright smile as they talked, warming him with the usual butterflies she instilled in his chest.

"Nothing's changed…I want my family with Sam, and we're pretty good at running the firm together. I like going home to them with a clean conscience at night, and being able to talk to my son about what I do. I honestly don't plan on that changing."

Although expected, it still felt like a knife in the heart to hear the actual words finally spoken. Deep inside, Sonny always knew this would be the outcome of their new existence, given everything that had happened and the way his friend had all but cut himself off from their business, but it never quite stopped him from hoping. When he'd heard he'd gotten his memories back, he'd hoped against hope that just like last time, he'd want back in. But this wasn't last time. His priorities, much like his life, had shifted once he took Danny home that night all those years ago. He recalled very well the conversation they'd had in the hospital lobby, and his frustrations at wanting to give Sam and Danny a life, but having only this one to share. Things had changed drastically since then, and now circumstances had weaved him into a new existence where he found himself unknowingly gifting that life he'd yearned, but felt unable to give his family. Truth be told, Sonny would jump on the chance himself, if given the same opportunity…but his destiny was one written a long time ago in the blood of Frank Smith. He'd worked the pawns of that game into crowning him King, the only throne he'd ever craved, the one that was his chosen cross to carry. His choice had been made ages ago. He would miss him, but he would never begrudge his brother the life he truly wanted…not after he'd helped him carve out his own.

"I took on some help recently…he's fitting in pretty well."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah. He fell back into things…seems Robin's reversed the hypnosis so your memories are gone…but he's quick, skilled, and eager to learn. Reminds me alot of you in the early days, when all you wanted was to prove yourself and live your life on your terms. He works hard, and quickly picking up the way we do things."

"A replacement Jason?" Sam joined the men deep in conversation, slipping an arm at Jason's waist when she caught the tail end of their talk. "You finally did it, Sonny? Found an exact match to take his place, after all this time?"

Her tone was light but they all knew it wasn't really a joke. "Naw…never that. Just like Shawn, and Duke before him, I have excellent help…but here's the only man who's ever fit the job like it was tailor-made!" Bringing sad eyes to meet his brother's brief gaze, Sonny rued at their days of old. "There'll never be another like you, man!" He meant it! Nobody else ever carried out his wishes before he himself knew exactly what they were, or solved a problem as quietly and ingeniously as his reverence in their circles acknowledged. Jason Morgan was one of an irreplaceable kind…but regrettably replace him he must.

"I appreciate that. I'm sure it'll work out." Holding the beer in his direction, Jason proffered a silent toast to who they'd been, who they were now, and to who they were destined to become, certain he'd never regret their past, anxiously anticipating the future with Sam and Danny, while thoroughly enjoying the present…and he wanted the same for everyone he loved.

Raising his plastic cup to touch the offered bottle, Sonny joined in the toast to the best friendship he'd known. "Here's hoping!"

Watching them both drink to the loaded toast, Sam looked from one face to the other and squeezed the man at her side closer. She hadn't known quite what to expect once his memories had returned, and with so much unfolding from one day to the next since that morning in the woods, they really hadn't had a chance to talk about next steps, but watching them now, seeing the acceptance on both their parts on the decided separation of a partnership that had truthfully been separated years before by a bullet in Jason's back, she realized she'd already accepted the new status quo. Jason had always fought to live his life on his own terms, but had somehow ended up always living it on somebody else's. While no-one ever forced him into doing anything, it always ended that what he did was for someone else's benefit.

A natural with a gun, he was quick and fast on his feet…but the gangster lifestyle had always been so he was Sonny's eyes and ears and present to watch his back; his love for Carly and her boys had always been selfless…but repeatedly translated to him sacrificing his own happiness to give them theirs; he hadn't particularly liked Sam when they first met, but soon offered her a home and his life as father to her daughter, to keep them safe and Michael's family intact; Elizabeth was no love of his life, yet, the willingness to give her children a family had spawned apathetic proposals to join their lives. With each selfless deed, she was able to id a sacrifice he'd made in the name of somebody else's happiness and well being. It felt high time his happiness took forefront!

Placing her body directly in front of his, Sam craned her neck to look up into the eyes of the man she loved. "Let's send these people home and get our son to bed. I want to take care of you."

Her words, though spoken softly, fell upon Sonny's ears as well, and as he watched two people completely in love with each other, the reverent look upon his brother sent his gaze in search of Carly. Clearing his throat self-consciously, Sonny nodded awkwardly to where she stood at one end of the yard with Lucas and Michael, "ahem…I'll see you tomorrow, man." But when neither one acknowledged his words, he could see they hadn't heard a thing he said. Shaking his head, Sonny left them to their quiet moment. Hard to believe he'd had a hand in bringing those two together, though he could never have known in a million years, the spitfire he'd taken hostage in a desperate moment, would turn out to be the love of his brother's life. If he didn't have Carly, he'd be jealous as hell!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lucky parked the car outside Kelly's and took a deep breath. For the tenth time since her panicked phonecall, he found himself questioning the sanity of him running to her rescue - again! Something in her voice sounded sincere…but how many times before had he believed her, only to find she'd lied through her teeth - again! With a sigh, he exited the car and slammed the door shut…if he didn't share children with her, so help him!

Instinctively, his eyes were drawn instantly to a shape that slipped into the shadows and to the rear of the establishment as he drew near. Odd, but the sound of the slamming car door had seemed to disturb him just standing there, disappearing as Lucky approached. Brushing it off, he kept moving to the door of the diner, noticing Elizabeth was directly in the line of whomever it had been standing there. Maybe she really wasn't bullshitting this time!

"Lucky! Thank God!"

Staggering back from the force of her arms circling his neck and her body pushing up against him, he found himself uneasy in her grasp, so he steadily eased her down.

"Okay, okay…I came! Why am I here?"

"I'm scared, Lucky! Somebody is after me and I need you!"

The cop and gentleman in him would not let him ignore the frantic state she was in, so easing her back to the chair she'd vacated, he took a seat opposite her. "Sit down and tell me what happened."

"I just told you - he's after me!"

Ignoring the fact that she just snapped at him, Lucky pushed the neglected glass of water that was sitting on the table before her. "Maybe you should drink that."

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth realized he was right. If she pushed him away she'd have nobody but herself to blame when he left her to get diced into little pieces by that crazy lunatic. "I'm sorry. It's just so unnerving. I don't know what to do."

Ushering her again, he watched as she took a sip of the water that appeared to help. "From the beginning - tell me."

Taking another deep breath, she allowed herself to explain. "Somebody is stalking me." Pushing the phone his way, she showed him the latest text message. "He's been calling and hanging up, and I know he's following me - I've been sensing someone everywhere I go, but when I turn around nobody's there." Her fingers laced and unlaced nervously as her eyes roved the doorway behind Lucky. "I'm scared, Lucky. Somebody's really out to hurt me."

"Sounds like you know who it is." He pushed the phone back towards her and searched dishonest eyes for the truth, not exactly shocked to find out she'd lied to somebody else. "Who'd you set up this time?"

"No-one!"

"Okay…so _'no-one'_ is texting you? You know exactly who it is, and you know what you did. If you don't plan on telling me, I don't see how you expect that I can help."

She could feel her back to the wall…Lucky already thought she was the biggest liar on the planet and this situation wasn't about do anything to change his mind. If she didn't come clean he wouldn't help, and she couldn't do it by herself. Stomping her leg childishly beneath the table, she grimaced and let it out.

"I didn't do anything, Lucky…this guy liked Sam and wanted to get her attention. He ended up doing something stupid that landed him in jail, and now he's blaming me! All I told him was to be bold in a way that would grab her attention…it's not my fault he chose to _assault_ her to do that!"

 ** _"What?"_**

Shrinking from his look of disapproval, she defended herself against the instant judgment. "I didn't do anything, and I certainly wasn't there when he got himself locked up for what **_he_** did…yet it's **_my_** fault - like **_I_** told him to be stupid!" She sobbed distraughtly, "Now I have to fear him cornering me in some dark alley?"

Sitting back in the chair, he studied her bloated, tear-stained face in disbelief. "Elizabeth - what _happened_ to you? Are you seeing the things you're doing? Who have you become?"

Smarting from the slap in his tone, she wiped at the tears and snarled through gritted teeth, "I have no choice…she's been trying to take my life ever since she showed up in this town…I have to defend myself."

"What the hell are you talking about? Sam didn't know you existed until you spread your legs in a blackout and tried to destroy everything that **_she_** had! **_She_** didn't go after your life or your fiancé - **_you_** went after **_hers!"_**

"I don't expect you to take my side, Lucky - you never take my side!"

"Are you kidding? _Everybody_ takes your side…it's what you've **_always_** counted on and it's what you've used to get what you want! But you can't keep hurting people and doing what you feel like - you're not the only one being affected by all this!"

"I love him! What am I supposed to do with that?"

 _"Nothing!_ So what, you _love_ him? **_He_** doesn't love you! You're not the first person to fall in love with somebody who doesn't love you back, and you won't be the last - but you know how sensible people handle it? They move on and give their love to somebody who wants it. You can't make the man want you, and you can't go around trying to destroy the woman he loves just because she's not you. Look what you've brought on yourself because of it?"

"So you believe me? You believe that somebody is after me?"

The shadow from earlier entered his mind and he sighed in empathy. "Yes, I think somebody was outside watching you when I drove up."

Frantic eyes scoured the doorway and glass windows, the darkness serving to recharge her resurged fears. "What - you saw him? He's really out there?"

"Calm down. Whoever he is, he left before I got to him. Come on, I'll take you home."

"But how do you know he's not waiting to pounce on us from the shadows? He could just be round the next corner, waiting to ambush us." Sinking back into the chair, she brought both hands to rest at her temples. "Oh, God he's going to kill us!"

"Stop it! Get a hold of yourself and let's go."

The sternness in his voice forced her to calm down again, but the fright wasn't going anywhere. "Do you still carry a gun?"

"Don't worry about what I carry. I'm not afraid of some punk, slinking around the dark to make women cower. Doesn't sound to me like he has the balls to take on someone his own size…though knowing Sam, I bet he hadn't expected what she had for him either…wish I'd been a fly on the wall to watch that one."

The sound of admiration for his old flame made her nauseous, but she was more concerned about her own welfare. "Are you sure?"

Standing and holding his hand out for her, Lucky nodded, "I'm sure I'm not spending the night here. Let's go!"


	54. Chapter 54

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"And I can't believe you can't feel the therapeutic rewards of drifting aimlessly for an hour or three!"

Leaning forward to the crook of his neck, where his head rested against her, Sam turned her face to rub damp tendrils against his stubbled jaw, eyes closing to the soft sounds of Sade strumming from the shower radio in the background. Sighing into the chiseled hardness of his back she pulled to squish her breasts, she sunk deeper into the velvety feel of the water, lifting one hand that reached around him to squeeze the loofah that lowered slowly to trace a watery trail across his rigid pecks, brushing aside red rose petals aswim on the surface of his chest.

"Just let go, my love…feel the calm of the water, my touch…let the sounds of the night wash it all away." Dropping the lightest, feathery kiss to his ear, she dipped the loofah and returned it to its trail, changing direction down his chest to travel slowly to his navel. "Close your eyes and come with me…it's just us…you, and me, and the water…and Sade."

He had to admit, easing fully back into her arms that circled at his chest and her legs beneath the water at his hips, felt like heaven. It was the bath part that he questioned. "You really want me to smell like roses?" He closed his eyes to the soothing feel of her wet body against his back, then let his head fall to the urging of her shoulder. She felt so good…everywhere she was touching, everything she'd prepared around them…soft candlelight flickering throughout the bathroom, soft sounds of the water from the wave she frictioned with the slight movement of her leg across his, the loofah making slow, tantric circles where she brushed him lithely and teased his skin. He could see her fondness for the pastime, but he was starting to feel stirrings he knew she didn't intend.

"I hear you baby…but all I feel is you naked against me. That's a little hard to ignore, even with everything else."

Smiling, Sam rubbed her jaw against his head and whispered to his wet ear, "We'll get there…but right now, I just want to take care of you." She kissed his ear again. "Relax. I've got you!"

"Yes, you do…but kissing my ear like that is _not_ relaxing me!" He stroked her leg where his arm rested over one knee. "I can think of a much better way we can both relax."

"No, you can't. You're thinking of working up a sweat…this is for your mind…" Smile spreading at his ear, she tickled with the softest blow of air, "I'll take very good care of your body later, I promise!"

Nerve endings heating with fire sent an involuntary bolt shooting through him. "Looking forward to that."

Closing his eyes again, he allowed himself to relax completely into her, giving himself over to expert command, almost drifting off to the lull of her gentle touch, when she switched her head to the other side of his.

"Your son loved his present tonight. He had a really good birthday."

"Yes, he did. I'm sorry I missed most of it."

"But you didn't miss _all_ of it…I knew you wouldn't."

He brought her hand with the loofah round to his lips, dropped a tender kiss on her thumb, then released her to continue her trails. "Your faith in me is staggering, you know that? I don't know what I did to deserve it but it's intoxicating, how much you believe in me."

"That was earned years ago, Jason. You've more than proven that we can count on you."

"I've also given you reason to doubt me, and with everything going on right now - I don't know - I guess I wouldn't blame you if it made you remember."

"If, by everything you mean your exes…you haven't given me any reason to believe that they're anything but. I might get angry and bloodthirsty when their foolishness pushes my limits, but it's not because I believe in you any less than I always have. We just don't agree on how to handle them…but I get your position."

"You do?"

"You have history with them I will never be able to share, Jason. It makes your point of view of them different from mine. Your innate nature moves you to protect everyone you've loved…I feel the same way, but I've never loved either of those clowns - so I see them clearly, and I can stomp them without feeling bad about it. You can't. I get that."

"It's not that, exactly."

She traipsed the water along the length of his arm that stroked her leg absently, and nudged his head with her chin. "Then what?"

"Well, with Robin…it's not that I don't believe she's done something horrible to get revenge on me, but the fact remains that she risked everything to save me in that clinic. I owe her, Sam. Despite what she tried to do recently…if she hadn't come to get me, I would've never known heaven in your arms again. I owe her, baby."

"I know. I do too." The soft words dripped from her lips at his ear, and she meant them, but she wasn't blind either. "Unfortunately, that's not the person we're dealing with right now."

"What do you mean?"

"The Robin who couldn't live with herself, knowing she might've been able to do something to save you and didn't, is not the same woman who groomed a man to take over your life and fill your family with false hopes."

With a groan, his eyes opened to the ceiling. "Don't tell me you think we're dealing with _another_ double?"

"You mean like I have _Alecia_ out there somewhere? No, not like that. I just think that whatever has happened to her during the time she was away, has changed her drastically. That woman we saw the other night didn't give a damn about old friendships and saving lives. That woman is out for revenge, and she means to get it."

Jason studied the far wall as he thought on her words. "She showed me a totally different person again tonight too."

"You saw her?"

"Yes, she's part of the reason why I was late." He rubbed her arm that had come to rest across his chest, holding him loosely to her. "I didn't want to spoil our night by talking about any of it, but I want you to know why I missed so much of our son's birthday."

"Nothing can spoil anything for us we don't want it to, Jason…definitely not talking about people who we refuse to let influence our decisions."

She was remarkable, and everytime he forgot it for a second, she did, or said something that reminded why he felt that way.

"You're right."

When she dropped the loofah and closed arms and legs tighter and swooshed the water side to side with him locked soundly, he smiled devilishly and rocked them harder, sending the water waving over the rim of the tub and onto the tiled area around it, to circle and run down the drain. Her hysterical laugh kissed his ears, inviting him to turn his body inside her arms to lock her soft lips in a hot, hungry kiss and push against her to send them beneath the surface of the water, lips locked against sliding, seeking, finding tongues.

Sam rubbed her hair dry, turning from Danny's room after checking he was still soundly asleep, to pad her way back to the bedroom, where Jason watched patiently for her return, shifting his head against the headboard, his bare back rested in wait. She smiled through the fluffy white towel, then tossed it to the chair at the side of the bed, stripping off the matching robe that she let fall to her feet, before she slipped beneath the covers he held open for her gorgeous nakedness.

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

Smiling contentedly, she snuggled into his open arms and kissed the nipple at her head. "So you keep telling me. I might have to start believing it."

Dropping a lingering kiss atop her damp head, Jason pulled her closer. "You better." When she snuggled closer still, he pulled her tighter and eased further into the sheets, then kissed her in the same spot again, his eyes falling past the walls before him, seeing the life they had together. "You're my soulmate, Sam. You're the love of my life." When a shiver ran through her body, the involuntary jerk that moved her prompted a forefinger that tilted her head so he could see the sparkling amber specks in her gorgeous chocolate orbs. "Do you know how much I love you?" Then her lips curled the tiniest smile, and he couldn't stop himself from dipping his head to taste the inviting warmth.

Tiny bells sounded in her head that set off tiny tingles through her body, leaving Sam breathless from the softest peck of his lips, a reminder that the somersaults his kisses still evoked on her poor heart will one day leave her dead. "Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" Her mouth was joking but her heart was leaping from her chest with the force of what it held for him.

"I get one everytime I look at you." He stroked her upturned face and when her lovely lids drooped closed, he had to answer the summon to kiss each tenderly, moving from one eyelid to the other, to the sexy tip of her perfect nose and the sensuous lips beneath, softly, once, twice, even softer trice, and then again…whispering, "I love you…so much!"

The butterflies that lived in her chest escaped to flitter against closed eyelids and the bottom of her belly. "I love you too." Of course she did. She's loved others too…but he was the first…he was the only with this intensity, with this abandon! He was the only with this lightheaded euphoria, this blinding purity. He was the last.

The beeping of her phone broke through the haze in her head, bringing the awareness it had been a dull echo in the background of her mind. "I should probably get that." She didn't want to, but it was late. It could be important. It _better_ be important.

Reluctantly obeying to release her sweet lips, Jason moved his body with hers as she reached for the phone on the table beside her, relishing the sweet sound of her laughter at his ear.

"It's my mom." Sam read the texts that had sounded back to back. "Looks like you're giving her a sleepless night thinking about your ride tomorrow."

He dropped a soft kiss to her bare shoulder, pulling her back in when she laid the phone on the table after texting _'GO TO SLEEP!'_ and easing back inside his arms.

"She's not the only one who's worried - admit it!"

"I admit, I _was_ worried - but that was earlier - I've since remembered who's taking him out. I trust you - you know that."

"I'd die before I let anything hurt him, ever."

"I know you would…and I also know I prefer you be the one to teach him these things, because he's going to try them one way or the other, with or without us. He's a daredevil at heart, and I feel better knowing we're his teachers."

The phone beeped again and she swore beneath her breath, then yanked the sheet above her head. "I'm not getting that - maybe she'll go to sleep if I don't answer."

Smiling, Jason draped across her body to grab the phone that beeped again, then read the texts out loud.

 _"Who can sleep, when you're not stopping that man from putting my grandbaby in a body cast!" And "I'm calling child services right now!"_

"Don't you dare reply to her - she'll never stop!" She withdrew from beneath the sheets to see his demeanor change with him glaring at her phone. "What did she say now?"

Looking over to her, he held the phone so she could see the screen. "Who sent you this?"

"Oh - _that!"_ Easing to her stomach, Sam smoothed the pillow then laid her head down. "I don't want to talk about that - not tonight."

She knew he wouldn't let her get away with that even before she felt herself being turned onto her back so she was looking up at his angry face.

"Who took this and sent it to you, Sam?"

Annoyed at having to address it, she shifted into a sitting position and slapped the sheets on either side of her. "I have no bloody idea, and I don't really care!"

Jason looked at the number and it was't one that he recognized. "Has there been others?"

Her annoyance shifting to him, Sam raised her brow quizzically, "Should there be?"

Realizing from her tone how it sounded, he shook his head and sighed, "Of course not! But this one shouldn't exist either, is my point. Why would anyone take this and send it to you…unless…"

"Unless…?" Her frown increased at the dawning look in his eyes.

"Robin showed up _right_ after that happened - I told you how I saw her earlier?"

"Yea - so? You think _she_ sent it?"

"Who else? She was really calm - a total one-eighty from the hostility the other night - and I took her at face value. But then this? It has to be her."

"You think she was lying in wait for your ex to end up in your arms so she could capture the moment and share it with me, and what - send me into a blind rage? To accomplish what?"

"At the very least, to hurt you. She's made it very clear her goal is to cause you pain. I can't believe she had me believing she was willing to move past everything."

"Interesting."

"What's even more interesting is how Elizabeth ended up in my arms in the first place. I'm starting think they planned it this way."

"Great! So I guess we _are_ going to talk about this now."

"Baby, I swear it was completely innocent…I know how it looks, but that picture doesn't tell the whole story, and if I'd known you'd seen that, I sure as hell would have explained it the minute I came home!"

"There's nothing to explain."

"The hell there isn't!" He closed his eyes against the anger building in him at whomever had targeted her, inhaled, then opened to see her face. "Somebody went to a lot of trouble to make you think I'd ever hurt you like that again, but I swear, Sam - she ran into my arms from out of nowhere, and whomever it was, timed it perfectly to get a shot like that - because it took a _second_ to ease her off me."

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Sam expelled the yawn that escaped her lips. "Jason, I wasn't being coy when I said you didn't need to explain. I'm not insecure Elizabeth Webber, and the minute that thing showed up, I realized somebody _wanted_ me to react to it…so I didn't."

When he thought of the warm way she greeted him earlier that night and the intimacy he'd come home to, he realized she really didn't. Easing his head to one side, he puzzled out loud, thankful the insipid incident had failed to sully their bond. "Why didn't you?"

"Because _no-one_ was going to get the satisfaction of ruining Danny's birthday for me, or for him! Somebody wanted me to go off on some jealous rage over a damn picture and forget that you've never spent a birthday with your son…that Danny never shared his special day with his dad, and that we never got the opportunity to share it together. Somebody wanted us apart and upset, today of all days…and they've already gotten five of those. They don't get another!"

Loving her even more with each word spat, he raised both hands to cup her face, pulling her close enough his nose brushed her own, besotted eyes studying her intently…drinking the soft, tanned smoothness of her skin, tiny, almost indiscernible freckles that danced across her perfect nose, long, fluttering lashes that lowered to hide her from him - only momentarily, before the chocolate portals to her beautiful soul called him in to drown in their depths. Lips that tasted like honey, moved softly beneath his kiss, answering the teasing urge to open her to him.

Hours flew in the dance of their bodies speaking their own tantric language, and when finally spent and drained, they lay in a cocooned mesh, intertwined and sated in sweated bliss. He could feel the leveling, soft fall of her breath upon his chest that housed her head, and as he stroked her closer to burgeoning slumber, his own slouching eyes opened on a distant thought.

"You weren't the least bit jealous?"

The sound of his voice pulled her from the edge of sleep, the question echoing out of nowhere. "Seriously?" A mumble was all she could manage, her body coiled for the heaven promised by sleep.

"Not even a little bit?"

Awake again, her eyes remained closed in slurry protest. "You're upset I'm not jealous of a staged photo?"

"I'm just saying…some woman was all over me and you had no reaction…tell me there was at least _one_ small second when you wanted to rip her off me."

"Will it get me some sleep if I do?"

A silent moment passed when her breathing began to even out again, but he found no such haven. "Do you need to see it again? I can reach the phone so you can have another look."

"Okay, I give…" she tried rolling over on her back but his arm wouldn't let her, so she raised tired eyes to his face instead, "…what crisis does your princess need you to save her from now?"

Smiling in satisfaction, he rolled with her in his arms, the ignited bite in her question satisfying his playful need. "Who cares about that?" He kissed the side of her lips and lingered when she pinched his arm. One of the many things they had in common was they didn't get jealous - not usually…but sometimes a little jealousy is warranted. He broadened the smile he felt form against the silkiness of her skin. "I love it when you break the claws out."

"Glad you're happy…I can sleep now?"

She tasted like promises and dreams and creamy nectar, enticing his senses and awakened naked need. "Who said anything about sleep?"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Hello?"

The damn thing was still ringing up against her ear! Easing it back so she could see the screen, her sleepy eyes made out Carly's smiling face, breaking a grunt from her throat, as she swiped the button and put the offending sleep-robber back to her ear.

"Carly, it's early - can't this wait til…"

"No it can't, Sam, and it's almost noon…get your sleepy butt out of bed and come meet me at Sonny's warehouse!"

Almost noon! It was? Moving the phone again, Sam took a quick look at the screen, squinting to see the clock. Shit - it was! With a groan, she turned over on her back to find she was alone in the bed, and there was a ghostly quiet throughout the penthouse.

"Sam! Sam!"

Stifled whispering from the phone in her hand brought her attention back to the call, prompting her to sit up as she pushed the speaker button and planted her feet to the floor.

 _"What,_ Carly - _WHAT?"_

"Wake the hell up! Did you hear what I said…I'm at Sonny's warehouse and something fishy's going on. I need you over here…and bring that listening device!"

"What?" It was too damn early for this! Only it wasn't early…why had she slept so late…and why had Jason let her?

Padding to the bathroom, she laid the phone near the sink and looked at her reflection, groaning at the tousled dark tresses that was the backdrop to the sleepy visage. Long day, long night, long week - hell, it had been a long damn year! She rubbed the sides of her face and yawned, realizing Carly was still calling her name.

"Sam, I swear if you…"

"Okay, okay - I heard you! I'll be right there - just give me a minute!"

Not waiting for anymore verbal thrashing, she quickly ended the call and looked at her reflection again, inwardly cursing her friend for the rude awaking, even as she took note of a deep satisfaction that shone through sleepy eyes. With a small smirk forming, she turned to the shower to wake herself up to face the day and Carly's latest brainstorm.

Twenty minutes later she was creeping into the warehouse that was abustle with activity for a Sunday. What was it with everybody up and about like they didn't get the weekend memo. She'd gone downstairs to find a note from Jason that he and Danny were out riding, a returned call to her mom had located her at the spa with her sisters - a date Sam had forgotten about since she'd turned it down - now, here she turned a corner to find Carly pacing the corridor in front of Sonny's office, anxiously chewing at her nail, the pale yellow sundress she sported, twirling its loose skirt in her direction, the minute she was spot.

"Thank goodness!" She grabbed Sam by the arm to usher her through the door of Sonny's office, "I'm not even supposed to be here so I can't call Sonny, but something doesn't look right!"

Staggering from being pulled to keep up with long strides, Sam yanked her bare arm from the forceful grasp, straitening the grey sleeveless tank over dark blue jeans. "Give my arm back and just tell me!"

Spreading her hands nervously, Carly pleaded for clemency. "Okay, I know you said don't try anything, but I had a gut feeling, and I just couldn't stand how open Sonny left himself to somebody we couldn't trust just weeks ago, so I…"

With a grunt, Sam shifted the weight from one foot onto the other and folded her arms with a tilt of her head, waiting for the fanny to crash onto the proverbial fan.

"No, wait - it's nothing terribly bad! I knew Sonny was expecting this shipment and he had this Brent guy oversee it solo, so what better time to find out what he was up to, while Sonny wasn't looking!"

"Where _is_ Sonny?"

With a dismissive flip of one hand, Carly hurried out, "He and Michael joined Jason and Danny in the hills. They got all nostalgic when they saw Danny's present so they all went out together…anyway, I tried to sneak in before anyone got here, to stake out a private spot in the warehouse, and that's when I heard a voice in the office. He'd gotten here before me and was on the phone, making a deal to offload Sonny's outgoing shipment."

"Wait - outgoing? I thought you said he was expecting something _coming_ in?"

"He was! It got here early this morning, but half is supposed to continue to a distributor outside Aurora. From what I heard on the phone, it's not going to make it, and it will be made to look like a rival intercepted it. He's dirty, Sam! Sonny trusts him, and he really shouldn't… _I knew it!"_

"Okay, okay - calm down. Where is he now? I take it he has no idea you heard him?"

Shaking her head, Carly flashed her hand towards the main area of the warehouse. "I could hear him barking orders earlier - they're loading the trucks in the alley."

"And you're sure it was him you heard on the phone? You saw him leave the office after?"

The words spoken out loud, triggered a tiny doubt that had been ebbing at her mind, forcing Carly to look skeptically at Sam, hesitant in her answer.

"Well…"

Antenna going directly up, Sam caught the flicker of doubt before it was brushed aside, "Well? Well - well, what? Either you're sure, or you aren't - which is it, Carly? Was it, or wasn't it him?"

With her face squirming in uncertainty, she offered her best guess. "I'm almost certain it was him." At Sam's eyes widening incredibly at her, she hurried to continue, "It was muffled, okay? He didn't want anyone overhearing so he wasn't exactly shouting…and when I heard him coming out I had to hide so he wouldn't see me." She half-turned, her voice sinking as she finished, "I didn't exactly see him leave."

"What was that?" Sam spun her back around forcefully clasping her by the arm.

"I said I didn't **_see_** him! But who else would it be, Sam? The other guys have worked for Sonny for years…he's the only one that cannot be trusted. He's the only one Sonny allows free reign in his office and with the details of his deals. It's him!"

"How the hell didn't you recognize a voice - you were _right_ there!"

"I told you, it was muffled. Why are you stalling? We have to stop him."

"You can't just go accusing somebody of stealing without proof. Why didn't you call Sonny to come handle this?"

Sounding out an incredible scoff, she looked at her friend incredibly, "Are you crazy? Tell him I ignored him and came to spy on his new best friend anyway? Tell him I stuck my nose in the middle of his business, where he constantly orders me to butt out?"

Shaking her head, Sam allowed her mind to process what she'd heard, turning from Carly as she paced back and forth in thought. "Like Sonny doesn't already know you never do anything you're told." Folding her hands across her chest, she brought one up to scratch at her jaw as she paced, "Okay…we plant a tracking device in one of the crates, call Sonny anyway, and let him intercept it when it gets dropped off at the wrong place."

"What? Weren't you listening? Telling Sonny is the **_opposite_** of what I want to do - that's why I called **_you!"_**

"We have no choice! He needs to know if his man is dirty, and the sooner the better. Come on - I need to grab a kit from the trunk."

"You go…I'll wait here."

The words halted Sam in her tracks when she heard a hesitation, spinning back to where Carly hadn't moved. "No, that's not a good idea." She knew better than to let Carly out of her sight, especially when she'd been told to do the opposite of what she wanted to.

Scoffing at her friend, Carly clicked her tongue mid eye-roll and slapped her legs in offense. "Where am I gonna go?"

She could argue, but they were running low on time. Lifting a forefinger in a silent warning instead, Sam glared her friend's way, then hurried out to the car, making certain to exit as unseen as she'd entered earlier. Three minutes later she'd returned to the spot where she'd left Carly, only to find it unsurprisingly empty.

"I knew it!" Kicking herself for trusting her, Sam moved quietly to the back of the building, whispering bitingly beneath her breath, "Caroline BensonCorinthosAlcazarCorinthosJaxxCorinthos, I swear you better not be where I _know_ you are!"


	55. Chapter 55

**_"_** ** _Why_** would you get on the truck?"

Hissing the angry whisper from behind the large crate in the middle of the load, Sam swore out loud when the truck suddenly hit a bump and sent her sprawling on her fanny, the back of her head crashing into an adjacent crate.

"Why would you get on behind me?"

Grabbing hold of the large one nearest her, Carly reached her free hand out to help her up, wincing when Sam got to her feet and squeezed hard on the offered hand, glaring her complete disapproval.

"What else was I going to do - watch as they take off with you for god knows where?"

Carly knew she'd bitten off too much by getting in impulsively, but she wouldn't take all the blame for them both making the same split-second decision.

"You could've just planted the tracer, and met me when we got there." Her own hiss grounded through clenched teeth.

"Yeah - sure! Except for the part where they loaded **_three_** trucks…two of which took off in two **_different_** directions…and there I was with only _one_ tracer!"

Something she hadn't thought of! "Lucky for me you chose the right one?"

"No - _not lucky_ \- since I'd already strapped the truck closest to the bay door and watch it take off _before_ I spotted your bobblehead peaking out the back of this one!"

"Then why didn't you just call for help, instead of getting on?"

"You threw me off, dammit, and I couldn't watch you take off alone, not knowing what you've gotten yourself into! Silly me, thinking I'd be able to talk you off before we got locked in here!"

"Shit! We could end up in a different location from where they plan to offload the hot stuff?"

 ** _"_** ** _Yes!_** Not feeling so genius stowing away now, are you?"

Making a face at how right she was, but not caring to acknowledge it, Carly saw her plan instantly unravel.

"You're here with me - doesn't make your plan so brilliant either!"

"Only because I had to scrap it when you improvised your own! If you hadn't boarded a truck, we could be safely tracking from the warehouse, waiting for Sonny and Jason!"

"Jason? Jason wants no part of Sonny's business anymore - you know that!"

"What?"

"He told Sonny last night - didn't he tell you?"

Sam knew he hadn't been foaming at the mouth to jump back into the thick of mob life, but she wasn't aware a final decision had been relayed.

"Whatever…" Pulling the phone from her back pocket, she rested her back to the crate, bringing up an app, "Let's just see where we're headed!"

Bracing against the increasing jostle of the moving truck, Carly edged closer to peer over Sam's shoulder at the screen, puzzling at the slow moving red arrow.

"We're driving south on the highway - where the hell are they taking us?"

"Not Aurora, that's for sure! Hush…let me think!"

While not pleased at being hushed, Carly got quiet and raced through her own thoughts, appreciative that despite her impulsive decision to hop onto the loaded truck, she wasn't alone in her current predicament. While Jason would always be her number one choice to have in her corner, Sam Morgan was an excellent second, in any situation! She was confident they'd find a way out, and bust some thieves in the process!

"Shit!"

"What?"

"Their phones keep going straight to voicemail - must have no signal in the hills."

"I told you not to call them anyway." Sliding down a crate, Carly spread her legs straight along the bed of the truck, settling in for what could be a lengthy ride.

Sending her a silent stab from reprimanding eyes, Sam mimicked the movement, trying again to place the call, with the same result.

"We need backup, Carly. We have no idea what's waiting for us at the end of this little joyride."

"That's true." She watched as Sam dialed again. "You're leaving a message?"

"No - I have an idea."

"What - the police?"

"Pfft - they'd probably lock **_us_** up as stowaways!" When the call was picked up after two rings, Sam put her plan into motion.

"Hey. It's Sam."

"I know. How're you?"

"been better. Listen, I need a favor!"

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"Daddy, this is the best!"

Jason smiled at his boy taking his helmet off, still full of so much energy even after they'd been out for hours. Removing his own helmet, he sat back where his feet planted to the ground, straddling the dark blue bike with the white lightning bolt running its length, Danny seated on a smaller replica beside him. This was exactly the kind of energy filled morning he'd always yearned to share with a son of his own, and here it was, unbelievably happening - the experience so much more thrilling than the dream, filling his heart to utmost capacity. His seed had taken to the dirt like a natural, spilling only a couple times at first, but later started going faster as his confidence boosted and his footing got surer.

"Yes, it is Buddy! How's that arm?" His second spill had resulted in a bruise on his left arm but he hadn't complained about it once during their ride.

"It's nothing…doesn't even hurt much."

But Jason knew it would be an ugly purple later that he would have to explain to momma bear, given his assurances the night before that nothing like it was going to happen. It was no worse than a scraped knee that children got from playing ball outdoors - yes, he'd use that analogy - she'd be less mad at something she'd had plenty as a kid.

They'd just gotten off to stretch their legs, catching sight of the breathtaking view of the town from up high, when they were met with the sounds of Michael and Sonny riding up.

"Hey, Danny." Michael stopped next to his little cousin and rested one foot to the ground, his outstretched arms still revving the bike for effect. "You were going so fast I thought I'd never catch up. Who taught you to ride like that?"

Danny smirked like his father, shiny, riveting blue eyes filled with mischief and pride. "Daddy let me lead - did you see that?"

"See it? I've been trying to catch you for twenty minutes!"

They were laughing together when the sound of an approaching vehicle caught the attention of all four.

"Who's that?" Sonny exhaled as he removed the black helmet and looked over at Jason. "You invited somebody?"

"It's Linden - Sam and I hired him as a PI a few months ago." Curiosity reared its head as the black F250 braked to a stop near the group. "Wonder what he's doing here?"

Five minutes later, he had his answer, the bikes were hitched to the SUV, and the team of men were headed downhill. Sam was in trouble.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"It's been hours - how far are these idiots taking us?"

With eyes closed as her head rocked against the crate in conjunction with the jarring movement of the truck, Sam listened to the same question that had been pouted repeatedly throughout their journey.

"Why don't you knock on the panel and ask them?"

Carly held on as she moved about, finally easing back down next to Sam. "I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this."

"I'm not sleeping, but I'm not up in arms either…there isn't anything we can do until we get there, is it?" She'd been trying to think but the blonde's constant nervous interruptions kept breaking into her thoughts.

"We need a plan. It's good that you sent someone to Jason, but he won't know where to find us. We need to be prepared to get out before they know we're here."

"You're right about being prepared…but Jason will know exactly where we are."

"How? **_We,_** don't know where we are!"

With her eyes still closed, Sam waved the phone in her hand, then lowered it back to her lap. "In our line of business we find it imperative to keep tabs on each other…never know when one of us will need the cavalry."

Just then the truck slowed, drawing both their attentions to it veering off the main road onto a rougher path before coming to a crawl, and both realized that any minute they would be discovered among the stolen load.

Tapping Carly on the shoulder when they both rose into a crouch, Sam gestured for them to move to the very back. "Remember, we have the element of surprise." Easing the small caliber gun from the waist of her jeans, she motioned for Carly to move behind her. "We see how many there are, then we wait for the opportunity to get our asses off this truck, and we **_run!"_**

Carly nodded, then realized it hadn't been seen, so she orated, "I can do that." Curling and spreading her fingers to release itchy nerves, she braced her shoulders and prepared to fight.

Ten minutes after they'd stopped, everything was completely quiet, with no indication of anyone coming to the back of the truck.

"What are they doing? Where the hell are they?"

"Something doesn't feel right."

"Maybe they left it in the middle of nowhere for somebody to snatch. I say we make a run for it now, while we're alone."

Still listening for any movement and hearing none, Sam shook her head in wary doubt. "I didn't hear any other car leave…they didn't go anywhere."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing, Sam."

"I know you prefer to charge full steam ahead, Carly - act first think later, and I agree at times, but Jason's taught me the benefit of the opposite too. I still say we wait…at least until we have some idea of what we're dealing with."

"We can't see anything, so there's no way for us to figure that out! So now what?"

Before Sam could answer, the rolling door of the truck rattled loudly in its rise upward, sending both women scampering down behind large crates.

"You might as well come out! Both of you!"

Sam looked at Carly in surprise, whispering through her teeth, "How the hell do they know we're in here?" But Carly shrugged her shoulders in as much surprise, as they heard the stern voice repeat the command.

"There's nowhere for you to go, so come out peacefully and you won't get hurt!"

Sam didn't recognize the voice - it wasn't the man who'd tried to convince them all he was Jason. They were in a bind…they could try to shoot their way out but without knowing exactly how many and where they were, that could prove futile. Better to do as they said for now and take their time getting a lay of the land, enough to form a plan.

"What are you doing?" Carly whispered and grabbed at Sam to stop her midrise to her feet.

"We have no choice. Come on." Sliding the gun back inside her jeans, Sam stood up and raised her hands as she stepped forward.

Observant PI eyes soon made three big guys with dark hair, dressed in all black, each palming a handgun, but only the one immediately before her aimed at the truck as they waited cockily. The lanky one to the side, whom Sam recognized as the driver from the warehouse, kept looking around nervously, as if he was expecting company, while the third, stood directly behind them, his muscles bulging beneath a t-shirt two sizes too small. The one with the trained gun waved it to indicate they should climb down, then addressed Sam coldly when they complied.

"Mrs. Morgan - welcome! I'll take your piece now."

"What makes you think I'm carrying?"

"You're always carrying. Give it to me, or I'll really enjoy taking it."

Currently outnumbered, Sam knew the time to react wasn't then, so she moved slowly to reach the gun in the dip at her back, laying it flat in her palm to hold out to him.

"Atta girl. Keep being obedient and this will go smoothly for you." He stepped to the side and motioned them to precede him. "Move! You too, Mrs. Corinthos!"

Carly fell in line behind Sam, darting a look to the man to her right. "How do you know who we are?"

"Everybody knows who you are."

Looking around as they moved, Sam made out they were in a wooded area - the truck had been driven along a narrow graveled path to a lone concrete structure, surrounded by bushes on all sides. She remembered from when they turned off that they drove about three miles from the main road. Two pickup trucks were parked off to the side and there was nothing else around as far as she could see.

They were shoved inside the building, an empty, one-room structure with low beams and several concrete panels erected throughout, with a sole large window on one side. There were folding chairs strewn throughout, and a long table at one end, where the women were directed.

"I'll take your cell phones too."

Without a word, Sam handed the phone over, and the man turned to Carly, who widened her eyes and scoffed as they rolled, "I left mine at the warehouse."

"Nice try." He raised the gun directly at her face, and Sam could tell from the coldness in his eyes he was the deadliest of the three. "Hand it over - I'm not kidding around!"

"She's not lying…she dropped it climbing into the truck."

But he wasn't going to take their word for it, grabbing and groping at Carly while he held the gun on her, he ran rough hands over her dress and bosom before leering in satisfaction, shoving an angry Carly to the chair behind her.

"Sit!"

The one guarding Sam motioned her to do the same, slapping her hard across the face when she hesitated to comply.

 _Son-of-a-bitch!_ The smart, reddening her cheek, was nothing to the ringing the hit set off in her left ear, causing Sam to close her eyes shut and grit angering teeth to temper an ill-timed response. The third pig was busy digging through a cardboard box on the floor, his gun rested on the ground right next to it. Sam knew he was looking for something to tie them up, so she ran her brain to engage them before that happened, sitting gingerly on the ordered chair, as she mastered her voice to a learned calm.

"So, how did you know we were in there anyway?"

The two still standing, smirked at each other then looked back to Sam, "If you're going to stow away in a truck, don't choose one fitted with a camera to keep an eye on valuable cargo."

Pursing her lips in an agreeing nod, Sam relented, "I give you that. But, while we're on dos and don'ts…you probably _shouldn't_ steal from a mobster, and you probably _shouldn't_ take said mobster's wife hostage if you do…could spell a short lifespan for a thief."

"Not as short as one for an enforcer's bitch, who should learn to keep her mouth shut and her ass out of other people's business."

"Ah, come on…we're just talking here! For instance, I'm willing to let you in on a little secret…if you and your friends want to get out of this in one piece, you should leave now, and get a headstart. You're gonna need it!"

"Why is that? Because you called somebody from the truck - told them where to find you?" He snapped his fingers at the man still bent over the box, who stood up just then and approached. "Way ahead of you! See, somebody wanted us to leave you a little present first, since you chose to invite yourself to this party."

Sam looked over at Carly seated close to her, relaying with her eyes they needed to move. They couldn't afford to be incapacitated with these guys in a hurry to leave…that only meant they didn't plan on leaving them alive. Had to move now, before they were restricted. With a discrete nod to Carly, Sam used the man's momentary distraction with taking the ties from his accomplice, to reach down to her boot, snaking her trusty companion they never know to check for, surprising her assailant the moment he turned back around to a knife stabbing through his scrotum. At their companion's bloodcurdling howl of pain, the other two gaped, giving Carly the distraction she needed to rail to her feet, catching her guard by surprise when she grabbed him by the shoulders and brought a hard knee up to meet his testicles, shoving him to the ground when he doubled over in pain, adding a harsh, heeled stomp to his neck.

Now on her feet, Sam grabbed at Carly's arm and shoved her to bolt towards the window, pausing to grab the forgotten gun on the floor as she joined to zig between the concrete columns. Grabbing a folding chair on her way, Sam hurled it through the glass to send it shattering.

"Go, Carly - go, go, go, go, go!"

Knowing they'd only taken down two and the other would recover from his surprise any second, the ladies wasted no time reaching the window and Carly was halfway through it, with Sam just at her back, when a shot rang out behind them. Jumping to the ground outside, Carly spun to reach for Sam to help her out, her heart crashing in horror when she missed her hand by inches as she fell to the ground inside the wall.

 ** _"_** ** _NOOOO!"_**

Carly's head shot up when gunshots rang out in a flurry, a hail of bullets that sent her ducking to cover her head behind the wall, and then she realized what her eyes had caught before she'd ducked. That anguished sound had not tore from her, but from Jason, who'd burst through the door ahead of Linden and Sonny, just in time to see Sam fall to the floor from the bullet that tore through her.

When the thunder stopped, Carly eased up again, hurrying over the windowsill to get back in, just as Jason dropped to his knees at Sam's side before her.

"Sam! Baby, open your eyes! Sam!"

Kneeling quickly at her side, Carly joined Jason trying to wake Sam up, her eyes suddenly filling with huge tears that choked her urging voice.

"Sam Morgan, open your eyes! Sam, I'm not kidding around - we have to go home, Sam - get up!"

Jason's heart literally hurt! When he'd torn through the door and his eyes swept the room to find two assailants down and a third aiming at something moving rapidly to the window, it had beat so fast he thought it would jump out of his chest. Then when the shot sounded before his gun could go off, he'd died in the seconds it took him to tear the gunman's torso open with a hail of bullets from his own gun, seemingly leadened feet speeding him in her direction, to send his knees crashing to the ground by her fallen body. She was still as board, crimson seeping through the grey fabric of her shirt and spreading brightly across the floor. Panic unlike anything he'd ever known, made his head light and his breathing shallow, as gingerly, he sought the base of her throat, praying to any god there was to let there be a pulse. Light, but there, he felt himself breathe again as he backed the riding jacket and then his t-shirt off and pressed it hard against the gushing at her shoulder.

"Jason, Jason - help is on the way." Sonny was standing behind Carly with the phone at his ear, looking down to where they both had hands pressing at the cloth against Sam.

Shaking his head, Jason braced down on his knees and ran his hands beneath her tiny body, scooping her to his arms as he rose to his feet, Carly coming up with him, still clamping his t-shirt to Sam.

"I'm not waiting. I'll take her myself."

He was already on the way out the door, oblivious to any rebuttal to his decision. No way would he watch her bleed to death while they waited who knows how long, for some ambulance to find them. She was thankfully still breathing, and he would keep it that way.

Carly, who'd run ahead of him, threw the SUV door open for him to place her gently on the backseat, where she jumped in and set her hand back to bracing against the wound. "Let's go Jason - come on!" But he was already opening the driver's door, needing no urging to get him moving at a demon's pace to get her help. _Please God - I know you don't owe me anything, and I've used up more miracles recently than I have any right to, but please, I CANNOT lose her. My son CANNOT lose his mother. I beg you - please - do not take her from me!_

"How is she, Carly?"

"She's going to be fine, Jason - just drive!" Looking down at her friend's ashen pallor, Carly swallowed the lump with the lie in her throat. "You heard that, Sam? Jason found us, just like we knew he would, so don't make me lie to Jason!" She leaned down to Sam's ear and whispered harshly, "I'll kick your ass you dare leave this family, you hear me? Wake your ass up and give me a hard time for getting you shot!" She was praying as hard as Jason was, but she had to stay strong for them, even as her heart broke at how pale and weak Sam appeared, terrified that she wouldn't wake up.

"Just keep talking to her, Carly." Jason was following the map on his phone to get them to the nearest hospital, refusing to give in to the terror silently raging within him. "We're almost there!" Zipping past everything on the way, ignorant to honking horns and the last car that veered a hard right to avoid getting hit, he glanced in the rearview mirror, then back to the road. _Please God save her!_


	56. Chapter 56

**_A/N: Happy Fourth of July everyone!_**

 _It looks like I have maybe five or six regular reviewers on this story - thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts on each chapter - I appreciate you so much! The story gets hundreds of hits, so I know others are reading as well, so thank you also for taking the time to read and to follow, even if you don't share. I appreciate every single read._

 _Just a note on Robin...I don't exactly hate the character (Scrubs was one of my favorites to watch), but I've had a distinct distaste for her since she hugged despo Liz after that tired wench confessed she'd lie all over again, instead of scolding her, like Robin would have. The writers sullied a nice character for me and I just don't see her quite the same anymore. I loved watching her and Carly at odds and her calling Carly out on shit all the time - that was always entertaining, but now I take her a little grudgingly. In this story, that grudge has been moving me to make her evil...can't wait to see what my muse has in store for her next._

 _When I started this story, I decided I wasn't going to kill mangy Lizzie the way I like to kill her in most of my other ones, and I've been trying really hard (maaaan, it's been HARD)...but now that the story is winding down, I think I might be losing that battle. Mmmmmmm. LOL - whether she lives or dies, I hope you read on and continue to enjoy! Thanks again for your company on this ride...now let's set off some_ _fireworks - Jason style!_

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Jason braced antsy hands to the windowsill, needing desperately to do _something_ with the angry energy, something that would stop him tearing this town apart to find the party really responsible for the love of his life fighting to survive. He surveyed the parking lot below, his mind firing through scenarios, painting visions of torture, each one more gruesome than the last, about to befall _everyone_ involved in hurting her.

But underneath the anger he was so damn scared…her skin had been clammy and so very pale, and tried as he did he hadn't been able to wake her up. Why did this keep happening to her? Sam had spent more than her share of an entire lifetime inside hospitals…it was high-time life gave her a damn break, but no…here she was again, once more paying dues at somebody else's whim. When he got his hands on whoever it was who brought her here once again…

Carly was at her friend's side, seated against the sill with her arm trying to soothe his shoulder, lost in her own thoughts on the day. This was not the outcome she'd planned at all!

"Sam is going to come out of that surgery brand new, Jason. We got her here in time."

Although she believed the words herself, she knew there was still a chance it was a lie, but she'd do anything to assure her best friend and stay thinking positive, knowing she'd give anything to make her words true. When this day started, she'd had an innocent idea to make it the day she'd prove she'd been right, and free Sonny from his misguided obligation to hire a guy he shouldn't trust…it couldn't possibly end as the day Sam died? Fate would not play so cruel a joke on them?

Jason turned his head to look at her worried face. "What the hell were you two doing, Carly?"

She knew it was coming - she was about to get scolded for taking action. "Don't Jason. I wasn't wrong - I knew he was dirty but nobody else would listen to me. Sam listened."

"Listened to what? If you had something that needed looking into, why wouldn't you or Sam tell me about it? Instead, you follow these guys miles from home to confront them - by yourselves?" He was trying to not let the anger boil over to her but she was forever too impulsive for her own good, and oftentimes others around her.

"Sam tried to call you but there was no signal, and we didn't plan to confront anybody - we were going to let you know where to find the truck - that's all…" her voice grew puny when the explanation got to what led to their current circumstance, "…but they knew we were there. They found us out before we could call you."

"That's what happens when you don't have a plan! You and Sam could've both been killed tonight, and we'd have no idea where you were!" The reality of the words chasmed a gasp in the middle of his annoyance, at the fleeting thought of Sam still in the woods.

"Sam can take care of herself, Jason - so can I! We had it under control…" His angry brows went up and she sagged reluctantly, "…at first." Shrugging her shoulders, she flipped both palms open, "They were just thieves - how were we to know they'd try to kill us over a few stolen crates?"

 _"_ _They're_ ** _criminals_** _, Carly!_ You don't know what they're likely to do when they're cornered!" Spinning from her, he ran a staggering hand over a short crop, then turned back to face her, a little bit calmer at seeing the rattled state she was in.

"I'm so sorry, Jason!" Distraught, she looped her fingers to push blonde lochs back on her head. "She has to come through this. Oh, my God… _Sam!"_

Reaching a hand out to take hers, Jason took a deep breath. "It's not your fault…the person who ordered that dead son-of-a-bitch to pull the trigger, is to blame for putting her in that OR, and I'm gonna rip his heart through his nostrils when I find him!"

Sonny was pacing closeby, while Linden, who'd been in the corridor on the phone with Spinelli, entered the room and stopped next to Jason, who turned at his approach.

"What did you find out?"

"We know who hired them."

The sound of the double doors sliding open caused Jason to quickly sidestep Linden to get to the woman who'd literally had Sam's life in her hands for four hours.

"Dr. Krall - how is my wife?"

The surgeon removed her cap and gestured towards the chairs, but nodded when Jason shook his head no. "We managed to remove the bullet that went through her back and lodged in Mrs. Morgan's chest. We were able to repair the damage but she's lost a lot of blood and her vitals are very weak. She's responding so far to transfusions, which is a good sign…but I won't know anymore until she's awake."

Though better than he'd feared, she wasn't saying the words he desperately longed to hear. "How long until she wakes up?"

"Usually, the anesthesia would wear off soon, but I'm very concerned about a bump on her head she likely sustained from the fall when she was shot. It's caused some minor swelling in her brain that we will need to monitor very closely. For that reason, I'm going to keep her in an induced coma for now."

"What? Coma?"

"Just as a precaution, Mr. Morgan. We need to give Mrs. Morgan's body as much opportunity to heal itself as possible. This is the best course for her right now."

The silent panic was surging against the building rage, and nothing he was hearing was helping either one. She had to be okay…she just **_had_** _to be!_ "But she's going to be okay, right?"

"We're monitoring her very closely and doing everything we can."

The doctor's beeper sounded and she left them after nodding to Jason's request to see Sam. Leaving the others in the waiting room, he made his way to the ICU, where the first sight of her laying there, strapped to beeping machines monitoring her every breath, struck him like an anvil in the chest. Just this morning he'd left her asleep in their huge bed, tousled and tired from their lovemaking, safe and secure in their home and their love, while he experienced a bonding first with their son…now here she was hours later, fighting once again, victim of another tyrant's bullying attempt at her life. Easing himself into the chair at the side of the bed, Jason leant forward till he was just an inch from her beautiful face, bringing her tiny hand to his chin.

"I'm here, baby…I'm right here." Leaning forward all the way, he softly pecked the side of her lips, then closed his eyes to the single tear that escaped to run his cheek, before opening them to study her once again. _He couldn't have gotten to her one damn minute sooner?_ "The doctor tells me you came through like my champ." He paused, his eyes roving her face lovingly, falling to the swollen red marks on one cheek…fingerprints…someone had slapped her! Hard!

Boiling blood coursed his veins and a second tear spilled from brimmed eyes, as a redhot fury threatened to consume him. They kidnapped her, hit her, then they **_shot_** her. The three he left already dead on the scene was just the beginning. Whoever had wanted his full attention - just got it!

"I want you to rest, okay? Danny's fine - Michael took him home and they're going to have dinner at Grandma Monica's. Carly and Sonny are here, so you won't be alone when you wake up, so just sleep okay?" He kissed her lips again and touched his forehead gingerly to her cheek. "I have to run out for awhile but I'll be back soon." His eyes roved her face again, his heart wishing he could breathe for her, take all the pain from her and make it his own. _People have been known not to wake from comas._

Stopping the dire thought in its tracks, Jason reminded himself - she was not _people!_ His Phoenix had risen from the ashes of life more times than many counted on…she'd rise from this too. More than anyone else, he knew better than to count Sam Morgan out when the chips were down. _But he couldn't stop the fear._ "I love you, Sam…you can't leave me, okay?" The choke in his voice echoed the resurgent pain. _"Please don't leave me."_

His lips trembled against her skin, then with a last kiss and his emotions pulled in check, he released her silken hand and left her haltingly, pausing for Linden to look up from where he stood outside the door of the waiting room down the hall. The police had arrived…he'd expected them to show up as the hospital was required to report all gunshot wounds. With a nudge of his head to indicate he wanted to be followed out, Jason walked through the door and stopped to wait for the PI, who looked furtively back to where Sonny and Carly talked inside with officers, before following his boss' lead.

"What did you find out earlier?"

"Sam had her suspicions - so much so she was monitoring emails, and I don't know how much she told you about her investigation, but she'd managed to clone the cellphone chip to give her access to text messages and calls. There was a flurry of activity yesterday and last night, but it was all unread - guess Sam hadn't gotten around to reviewing any of it yet."

He'd had no idea. He knew Sam was still very angry at Robin and Elizabeth and didn't trust either of them in the least, but he wasn't aware she'd been actively conducting an investigation…though he should have…if she was still feeling uneasy about them, no way she'd have dropped it before she found out more. Danny's birthday and their evening spent lost in each other were the reasons she hadn't caught up before she went in on Carly's caper.

"Go on."

Nodding, Linden told him everything he'd just learned from Spinelli. "Apparently, the suspect got Brent to hire some guys in the warehouse Mr. Corinthos wasn't aware of - they're the ones who hijacked the load tonight. They've been texting with their whereabouts, and when they alerted to Mrs. Morgan being in the truck, they were given instructions."

"What kind of instructions?"

Hesitating, Linden tried to think of a way to relay the information without setting off world war three…but he'd want heads too if someone hurt the woman he loved.

"The kind that put Sam in a coma."

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A giant kick sent the door crashing back on its hinges and Jason burst in blasting, instinct drawn instantly to movement at his left when the startled man dove for the gun on the table, but proved too late to beat the bullet from Jason's that tore through his chestplate. His accomplice shot to his feet in horror, lightning quick with his piece firing off in Jason's direction, only to miss its aim in his haste to connect, not being nearly as lucky when the next bullet from Jason's gun made home in his skull, sending his body blasting back to the wall behind him.

Another bullet zinged by his head, bringing Jason's attention to the doorway the new shooter emerged from, where several sounds competed to be the loudest, a split second before he sent him to join his friends in purgatory. Raising his left hand with the second glock, he took aim, alternating arms that kicked one bullet and then a next, each finding its target as friends of the fallen villains followed through the far door, only to meet steely heat that greeted heart or head.

Boom after boom sounded on retort, finding Jason in slow advance amid the onslaught of gunfire and anxious, running feet. There could have been a hundred of them, he didn't care - motherfuckers touched her! They hurt her! They almost took her from his world…and he would not stop until every last one of them was wiped clean from hers!

Inclining his head from the last aimed his direction, he squeezed both guns at the same time, making connection until each clip echoed empty, hazing his vision with smoky entrails of a room that had exploded in a fierce firefight.

When there was no one left to shoot, no one left standing that his anger could eradicate, he clicked to send each empty clip falling, slowly looking around as he reached inside his jeans pockets then refilled each one, cocking again as he stepped over dead roadkill to complete a sweep of the entire warehouse. If a cockroach was hiding he'd find it this night…none would live to tell they'd had the audacity to ever touch her.

In less than a minute he'd cleared the building of them all and sent them to the bowels of hell, where they belonged…but he was far from satisfied. The reason they'd targeted her in the first place…the reason they'd entered his world and focused on his love, still breathed…and when he stepped over the last one to get to the back room with the door that led to the alley, he wasn't exactly surprised that she hadn't run.

Guns lowered to his side, Jason entered the room in a slow stroll, eyes locked in a returned cold hatred directed his way from her seated perch at the small table in the center. Seeing her, so obviously and uncharacteristically unfazed by the barrage of gunshots ringing all around, he was reminded how changed she was from the woman he'd known and even once loved. Gone was the warm, caring creature, who fought all for truth and fair practice - inhabited now by icy, spiteful hate directed at those he'd kill for. His eyes fell to the fingers of one hand, where they drummed the hard surface of the table, then drifted to the back door where the other one, cowering at the shoulders, clawed anxiously at the door to get it opened but couldn't, in her nervous haste. She turned to meet his eyes, her widening, panicked orbs pleading with him for mercy she didn't deserve.

"This is what you wanted?" The coldness in his veins dripped from his voice, and he trembled with the force it was taking not to create a third eye in each of their skulls.

"Not even close…but I'll take what I can get!" Her own coldness iced the room from where she sat, a sign of all friendliness between them now completely and forever dead.

"From where I stand that's a bullet in the heart. I'll hate it…but I'd kill you a thousand times before I let you hurt Sam and Danny again!"

A stubborn chin raised in defiance, hate dripping from her pores when she stood to face him now at a standstill before her, as the other one let go of the doorknob and perked with strengthening anger.

"Sam - Danny - Sam, Sam - Danny, Danny, Danny!" She spun in anger, wheeling full circle to fire an angry glare his way. "Don't you ever play anything else? They're not all you used to care about!" She jabbed a finger at her own chest and leant towards him angrily, "I used to be your family too, remember that? You asked me to **_marry_** you, Jason!"

"How could I forget? It's the sick reason you've honed in on my wife and son and won't get your bared teeth out of their flesh." He took an angry step that stopped him short on instinct alone. "I'm done asking and I'm done with inaction!"

His meaning not lost on her, she straightened shoulders that suddenly felt heavy with the weight of the massive task she'd chosen to side with. "Meaning what? You're ready to shoot me?" When his only answer was the cold silence she'd gotten to know, she sagged in disbelief. "You would, wouldn't you? You could actually look me in the eye and pull that trigger. I saved your life, Jason…we were as close as two people could get!"

Tired of the same ragged argument, he didn't even bother to point the obvious out to her yet again - a dire repeat of the weak excuses she used time after time giving him a headache. "You have one choice, and just as long a minute to make it." When her eyebrows raised in curiosity, he allowed the cold set of his jaw and ice-slicing blue in his eyes to pronounce his full intent. "Go back to your life and live it like I don't exist…or leave what's left of it on this floor, next to the rest of the trash."

Loud cocking sounds around them burst from new armed arrivals, as did the new triumph that gleaned the doctor's eyes atop the curving lips that lacked any warmth in the slow forming smile. But it was too much for the nurse, as she used the newly charged moment to turn on panicked feet that propelled her through the open door.

"Let her go! She has no stomach for the hard stuff…I was getting really sick of her wining to call everything off anyway - the wuss!" The brazen doctor watched him slowly scour the new entrants - four reserves who'd entered from the alley and were taking up positions on the outside of their little tete-a-tete, guns drawn and aimed at his head. "You think I didn't prepare properly for you tonight?" Watching as his eyes found her once more, she knew she'd never get the satisfaction of seeing fear in them…not for himself…but she also knew how to put it there. She knew who to target to get him to feel what she'd felt for oh, so long.

Holding a hand out in the direction of a new arriving cohort, who filled it with a tablet that she brought round for Jason to see, she flipped it on with a swipe to find her target.

"Bitch didn't die tonight, but pay very close attention, Jason…I'm about to tell you what will happen next."

But he'd stopped listening - had she not heard him before - he wasn't playing this game with her anymore…so while she'd been busy talking, he'd been pinning exactly where each minion stood, a lightning lift of both hands firing in the next split second to down the two in front of him, simultaneously sending his body to the floor with a flying leap and roll towards the stacked crates in one corner, wincing when he felt a tearing heat that sliced through his left arm, as he scrambled to duck behind the barrier. He'd figured they'd hesitate to shoot at first with her standing so close, but knew as soon as he hit the ground, to expect the barrage of bullets that showered his way, echoing against the concrete and crates long after he'd taken cover behind them. Two down…two and a bitch to go.

 ** _"_** ** _YOU BAFFOONS! WHICH ONE OF YOU SHOT ME?"_**

Her high-pitched screech filled the room and a quick look showed her gripping the right hand, blood seeping through her fingers as she glared and screamed at the two remaining hired guns, baffling between apologizing to her and watching for him behind the crates.

"Sorry, Mz. Scorpio…he was getting away…"

 **"** **SO YOU SHOT** ** _ME?"_**

"No ma'am!" The chagrined man used his unarmed hand to point to a fallen comrade, "Snakes did…he was the closest to you."

But she knew neither of those idiots had gotten a single shot off before they took one to the head. Deciding to deal with the idiocy later, she remembered how deadly a subject had her heart with a bullet etched in her name. Grimacing through the smarting pain, she turned in the direction where he'd scampered, her eyes landing on the red smears of glistening liquid at its edge.

"I see I'm not the only one nipped, huh Jason? Why don't you come let me take a look at that for you…like old times!"

Her two remaining guns spread out on the far sides of the crates, guns aimed at the ready as they closed in with intent, while the doctor prattled on to distract their prey.

"Ah-c'mon, don't be shy - we're friends here, remember? What's another gunshot wound between us?" She was winding the scarf around her injured arm, then used her teeth to pull at one end to tighten. "What's one dead con-woman, for that matter? Come out here - let's talk about it!"

Two lightning shots rang out, then everything went deadly still, including her tracks that halted at the sight before her. Without warning, Jason had reared from behind the crates that braced his back, both arms stretched to the side with a gun in each hand, firing off a single bullet from each that met the intended targets and dropped them instantly to the floor. Like them, she'd thought him reloading or out of ammo, but he'd obviously just been waiting for them to drop directly into his sights.

Anger at its tilt, Jason emerged with injured arm lowered, blood atrickle in a line to his fingers to meet the floor, the other pointing the gun at her head. He wanted her dead! She masterminded Sam in that bed, fighting to live! She meant to try again - he needed to end it with a bullet in her twisted brain.

But she was Robin. She was the first friend he'd made coming out of the coma, when he couldn't get far enough away from the stifling Quartermaines. She hadn't make him feel stupid and inadequate and slow. She'd been gentle and kind. Patient. She was unarmed.

Using the gun he held to point to one laying near the body closest to her feet, he grit his teeth in angry frustration. "Pick it up!"

She knew better than that. She'd purposely not armed herself for that very reason…even in enforcer mode, Jason Morgan would not shoot someone unarmed. Shoulders lifting with the heightening of her head, she eyed him with renewed insight and a dry, mocking smirk.

"No. You'll have to shoot me just like this…injured and defenseless before you." The obvious grinding of his teeth behind the steeliness of the icy blue glare, made her smile wider. She knew he wouldn't be able to do it. Sucker was a gentleman, on top of being a besotted fool. "Go ahead if you can…shoot me!"

With a snort, Jason felt his arm twitch in jarring anger, but as much as he wanted to kill her for hurting Sam, he couldn't shoot an unarmed woman. _She was Emma's mother._

Arm lowering, he kicked himself in silent frustration, but he couldn't let her make him into an animal. Sam wouldn't approve. She'd beat the living daylight out of the woman and he'd let her this time, but she wouldn't execute her in cold blood either.

"You and I now have a deadly problem, Robin. You may not carry a gun, but you're still a threat to my family…I will not ignore that again. I'm not about to walk away, filled with blind hope that you've come to your senses…not this time. You ordered the death of my wife…you **_will_** pay for that!"

She moved to the chair and sat with her back to him. Confident in his misplaced chivalry, she bent her head to inspect her arm, her voice sounding in a conceited drawl, as she listened to his footsteps draw near the door. "Not tonight I won't."

 ** _A/N: Bitch lives another day...but wait - stories not over yet! LOLOLOLOL! See you soon..._**


	57. Chapter 57

She was shaking like a leaf! Her fingers could barely get the key in the lock, but after struggling, dropping them twice, and trying for a third time, she pushed the door open to the dark living room, rushing in to slam and lock it soundly behind her. A musty smell from her house being locked up for weeks, greeted nostrils busy trying to sweep air in, as her chest heaved in her disjointed movement to the stairs. Feeling along the banister and up its dark rise, she made her way to the bedroom, only then risking to flick a lightswitch. With the boys living at Lucky's, she'd spent her days at the hospital and her nights on Spoon Island, unable to muster the strength necessary to face the emptiness of a house that belied her life now. Nikolas, the only friend she had left, had offered her a safe place in his home, her only haven away from the wreckage her life had become, but even that safety would be lost to her after tonight. Unless she gave him what she's always known he truly wanted…he'd never say no to her offering to share his bed again…but the polite, disciplined aristocrat was no match for an angry, vengeful Jason Morgan.

Her frazzled reflection in the mirror was the first to greet her in the flood of white light, hair tousled and tangled from running all the way from the docks, cheeks stained with tears that ran a constant flow from puffy, swollen eyes. She'd bitten off so much more than she could chew, and tonight it had earned her a place she'd never thought to ever, ever be…on a list of those Jason called, enemy. _She knew precisely what happened to the enforcer's enemies!_

There was only one choice left open to her now…she had to get the hell out of town! Swirling away from the truthful mirror, she grabbed a suitcase from the closet and opened it hastily on the bed, then returned to grab an armful of clothes from the closet. Frazzled, hasty trips between closet, dresser, and bathroom, filled it within minutes and just as she closed the zipper and straightened from bending over the bed, strained ears picked up quiet footsteps falling just outside the doorway.

Heart leaping from her chest, she looked around her in terror, seeing no place good enough to hide. Dear God he'd come for her…he'd killed them all at the warehouse and come to finish the only one who'd escaped. With a giant lump in her throat, she attempted to run, but leaden legs were stuck in place by the bed, her frantic eyes returning to the open doorway, as the shadow crept onto the doorjamb. This was it - she'd taken her last liberties and pushed his very last button, and she'd known from the moment she'd heard Robin give the order to finally and forever rid them of the woman he loved, the woman he'd wanted from the start…that she'd end up here. She knew clear as her own name, that he'd track her to some dark, isolated spot, where he'd drain her body of its very last breath. She knew she was so dead!

"Elizabeth? Are you in here?"

The jagged sigh of relief was so enormous it dropped her to a jerky seat on the edge of the bed, so grateful for the shadow that morphed into her friend.

"Nikolas!" He came into full view, halting at the open door to sweep the chaotic room. "Ohmygod, you scared me!"

After a brief hesitation, Nikolas entered the room slowly, coming to a stop before her, eyes falling to the stuffed suitcase. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You've been so scared to leave the house and you weren't at work, so I was worried something had happened."

Lifting a palm to wipe the emergent cold sweat at her forehead, she closed her eyes briefly in expanded relief. "No - I'm sorry - I needed to get some things."

"You've been here this whole time?"

With a darting glance to his scrutinizing face and back to the floor, she realized she couldn't possibly tell him the truth. "Yes, yes I have. I needed to get some things."

Hesitating, he looked at the suitcase again, then at her frazzled and disheveled appearance. "You said that."

She had. Clearing her throat, she made to get up from the bed but sat back down instantly when her legs refused to cooperate, the earlier fright taking its toll to render them still and lifeless.

"I'm sorry - I don't know what's the matter with me."

Slowly lowering himself to the bed, Nikolas sat facing her, observant eyes boring into panic alive all over her.

"Could it have something to do with where you've _really_ been?" Frantic eyes met his and he could tell when she finally saw. "Something to do with what happened to my cousin tonight?"

"Wha-what?"

"Alexis called me a few hours ago - frantic after a call from Jason - telling her Sam had been shot. Know anything about that?"

The lump returned to her throat with a renewed dryness that parched. "Wha-aat?"

Lifting his chin, Nikolas leant his head to the side in study of her deceptive face mirroring a mind trying desperately to form a deflecting lie, his voice falling low and slow. "You _reeally_ had me fooled, didn't you?"

Suddenly her eyes were filled with blinding tears again and the new lump swelled in bounds, recognizing that tone belying one more person completely disenchanted with her and seeing through unveiling eyes the ugliness she'd been able to keep hidden for so long. Heart sinking to her knees, she sobbed openly, knowing instantly she'd lost him too…her only, solitary friend left.

"Nikolas - I can explain."

"Go ahead…I'm listening." His voice was calm and deadly smooth…the Cassadine he never was with her. "Explain to me how you've been living in my home, taking full advantage of my hospitality and our friendship, crying your sorrows in my arms…while plotting to have my cousin murdered?"

Head shaking violently, she attempted to explain herself. "It wasn't me, it was Robin. Robin wanted her dead, not me!"

"Oh, so when you learned Robin wanted to have her killed, you called the police? You called me - you called Lucky? Jason? Your damn priest, at least?"

Shame dropped her eyes to the ground and she sniffled as she wiped the tears from eyes that refilled instantly. "I couldn't - I was afraid Robin would hurt me."

"So she threatened you then?" The mocking tone of his voice dripped with underlined anger.

"You didn't hear how calmly she ordered them to take out Sam and Carly - I knew if I crossed her she'd hurt me too, and you know I already have one lunatic after me. I couldn't risk it Nikolas - I had to think of my boys!"

A dry, mocking laugh sounded and his head shook at her. "Your boys? You mean the ones who live with Lucky…the ones you haven't seen in days? Those boys?"

"That's not fair - you know Lucky's been keeping them away from me! Nobody, including you - stopped him from taking my children from me."

Rising from the bed, Nikolas walked slowly to the closet and rattled the empty hangers dejectedly. "You are unfit, Elizabeth. For the longest time I couldn't see that. I thought they were all wrong about you and treating you so unfairly. They didn't know you like I do. But then I started to think - Lucky did!" He turned to face where she still sat, unable to move. "Lucky has known you a hell of a lot longer than any of us and much better too…and he wants nothing to do with you."

"Lucky hates me because he can't have me - you can't let his unfair judgment ruin _our_ friendship."

"Unfair. Interesting word. Was it unfair of him to lash out at us for sneaking around behind his back? For telling him we loved him in one breath, then tearing each other's clothes off in the next, while you were wearing his engagement ring?" He stepped closer to her slowly bowing head. "Was it unfair of him to put those boys first when all you did was chase my cousin's husband like he was the last man left on earth? Is he being unfair loving those boys and letting them know they have at least one parent they can count on?"

 _"Right now,_ Nikolas - where was he before? They couldn't count on him until now, could they? It was all me!"

 ** _"Now,_** is all we have." He moved to stand immediately before her and reached a hand out to brush her wild hair, down to her chin that he raised so she would meet his eyes. _"Now,_ is when you tried to kill my cousin, leave my aunt to mourn her child - force her son to have to grow up without her." A lone finger stroked icily along her jaw, _"Now,_ is the time to pay the piper."

Gulping hard at the hand that had been tightening slowly at her chin, she became aware that they were no longer alone, as the shape of two burly men closed in behind him, one carrying a long duffle bag that he bent over to open on the floor. The panic that had abated at Nikolas' appearance earlier, burst open again, and her feet finally worked to send her springing upward.

"What's going on?" Terror roared inside her head as one man drew nearer, then catapulted when he grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her, while the other held the huge bag open on the floor. "Nikolas, what are they doing? Please - don't do this! **Nikolas, please!** Don't do this to **_me_** _?"_

But he simply stepped out of their way, turning his back to her cries. "You would have benefited from paying closer attention to Sam over the years, instead of hating her so hard for your shortcomings. I bet your existence my brave, unstoppable cousin was fighting when she was shot…not begging and weeping like a spoiled, entitled little brat who always got her way!" Ignoring the squirming as she fought the tape being slapped across her mouth, he paused without turning, "You should've especially paid very close attention to how protective I felt about her."

Reaching the foot of the stairs, he watched the duffle being toted to the van and tossed unceremoniously to land really hard, then strode past the other two darkly clad figures standing on each side of the open front door, hands clasped at their backs, intent on his final instructions upon exit.

"Gut this place and level it to the ground. Elizabeth Webber will be erased from Port Charles, like she never existed!"

"Yes, sir!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I can't believe you left her alive, Jason? You let them both get away with shooting Sam?"

Throwing a tired hand to drag across his face in exhaustion, Jason stood akimbo in the waiting room facing an angry Carly, Sonny at her back eyeing him thoughtfully. The two-hour drive back to the unfamiliar hospital and his ladylove after checking on Danny, was worth every minute of what he'd just wiped away from her world.

"She wasn't armed, Carly."

"No? Do you think she cared Sam wasn't a threat to anyone when _she_ was shot? Is that really it - is that the real reason you couldn't shoot her - or are you still harboring some old, misplaced loyalty to who you thought she was at one time?"

Turning his back on the frustrated anger, Jason blew a sharp breath and placed both hands at his waist, before easing back to face her again.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me that. I'm not blind - I see very clearly that Robin is no longer the friend I knew, and I wanted nothing more than to end it, believe me. Tonight just wasn't right…but I'll take care of her."

"Oh, yeah? How? When?"

"When the time is right!" His angry glare snapped his rage, "You think I'll ever let her get anywhere near Sam again?"

Her matching anger flayed at him in query, "What's to stop her? _You_ didn't!"

"Do you honestly think that's what Sam would've wanted…me to shoot her in cold blood?"

The question quelled the flaring anger almost instantly, to send her hands upward in relenting frustration and acknowledgment of that truth. "No - she wouldn't!" Thrusting a hand through her thick blonde lochs, Carly sighed dejectedly, "I suppose you wouldn't be the man she loves so much if you could do that." Slapping his shoulder, she turned away from him, "Still wish you weren't so principled all the damn time!"

"Leave him alone, Carly. You know how Jason works." Sonny stepped in front of Jason and nodded, "I get it. But what are you going to do about our little problem? We both know it's not just going away."

"I know. I just need to get Sam well…then I'll deal with it."

"What about the other one?" Carly had been shocked to hear of Elizabeth's involvement but not overly, knowing how desperate the woman was overall, but even more to get rid of Sam. Of course she jumped on the opportunity of her friend doing the dirty deed that would benefit them both. "What am I asking…you never do anything about either of those two."

"That's not true. I cut Robin right out of my life when she hurt Michael, and Elizabeth doesn't mean a damn thing to me, so she's beyond done. She ran out of there like a bat on fire, and I let her because she's her own worse enemy. Nothing I could ever do to her will ever hurt her as much as her own actions will. She'll get what's coming to her. Over my dead body will either of them get near Sam again."

Antsy, he paced the small room, trying to be respectful of Alexis and Sam's sisters' time with her, but needing anxiously to be by her side. "Are you sure she's doing okay? The doctor checked on her since I left?"

Carly's heart softened at the unusual panic in her friend's breaking voice, knowing from experience very few things rattled him like the thought of losing the woman he loved. Letting go of earlier frustrations, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hug him close. "I'm sure." Rubbing his shoulders as she released him to see his eyes, she assured him best she could. "She's still in the coma but she's holding her own. Come on, Jase - you know Sam's tough. She's fighting right now with everything in her - I guarantee it! One measly bullet couldn't drag her away from you and Danny - not in this lifetime." She hugged him again, then backed away slowly, eyeing him curiously. "Ah, Jase…I know you're always happy to see me, but please tell me that's your gun in your pocket?"

Knitting confused brows trying to decipher her meaning, Jason eased back and frowned when it dawned, "Eew, Carly - **_no!"_** Digging inside his pocket, he looked down at the tiny black velvet box he retrieved and turned between his fingers. "Danny and I stopped to pick this out before we went riding…we were going to give it to her tonight at dinner."

With a gasp, Carly took one step back, her face breaking into complete delight. "Is that what I think it is?" At Jason's nod, she grabbed at the box that he quickly snatched from her grasp. "Let me see, Jason!"

Holding it away from another nosing attempt to grab it from him, Jason shook his head at her, "No…Sam gets to see it first."

"Sam wouldn't mind. Matter of fact, she'll appreciate me helping you pick the perfect ring she's going to spend a lifetime wearing. What if you chose wrong? Don't you want the benefit of my taste to know if you need to go change it right now?"

Shaking his head again, Jason stuffed the box back inside his jeans pocket. "Nice try, but I know exactly what Sam likes. I know her like I know my own soul." He smirked at her pouting displeasure at being told no. "Besides - Danny helped pick it out - it's important to my son, and his mom will love it. I just pray she says, yes." He was praying for so much more in that moment, his heart longing for the minute she'd again open those beautiful chestnut orbs that bored him the way no other soul ever had…like she saw _him_ …every single time!

Unable to hide the emerging smile, Carly stomped and clapped her hands at her lips. "I'm so happy for you. You deserve this Jason - you both do." With an abrupt spin, she started for the doorway, startling Sonny, who missed when he reached a hand out for her.

"Where are you going?"

"Alexis has been in there long enough." She swung to face Jason, "I'm taking her on a coffee run, while you go ask Sam the question that would wake her from _any_ coma!" Without waiting for a response, she hastened towards Sam's room, leaving both men looking after her in wonder.

"You're really going to ask her now?"

"Of course not. I want her very awake for the moment I ask her to spend her life with me again. I don't want her missing a single moment of it."

Sonny nodded to where Carly had disappeared. "Maybe somebody should tell _her_ that?"

Both men watched from the doorway of the waiting area as Carly ushered Alexis, Molly and Kristina from Sam's room and in the direction of the cafeteria, very obviously reluctantly being coerced. Grateful for his chance to go to Sam, Jason shook his head and headed for the love of his life.

"Nah."

 ** _A/N: Ooops - guess I lost - tehehe..._**


	58. Chapter 58

**_A/N: I know some people have already read this chapter and it probably had them scratching their heads because I'd_** ** _neglected to point out that I jumped a few weeks ahead here. Didn't mean to confuse anyone, so if you're rereading - sorry about that! Thank you all for clicking :-)_**

 ** _::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::_**

Hawaii was _beautiful_. Stroking the unruly blonde curls on her little man, Sam smiled as he took her hand and led her to sit crosslegged on the beach, where he and Jason had spent hours that evening, laying a surprise out for her in a makeshift open tent on the sands. After being served a delicious roasted fish they'd caught themselves earlier that day, she was led to recline against the cushions piled high on huge beach towels, facing the ocean. Taking a seat next to her, Danny brushed the sand from his white cotton shorts and smiled up at his mom, before leaning back alongside.

Grabbing two beers and a Coconut Water from the cooler, Jason handed them over and rested on one elbow, before taking a swallow, then checking his watch and winking at Danny.

"What was that?" Sam pointed suspiciously between the two, then curled her legs beneath her as she sat up, sweeping her flowing, white summer dress with them as she went. She'd always loved how relaxed Jason was at the beach, with his loose cotton pants rolled up at the ankles and the matching button up shirt flipped at the wrist, laid back with sand in his hair and light brimming his mischievous blue eyes. "What are you two up to?"

They'd had a secret all day, whispering together then stopping immediately when she appeared, insisting they waited to eat dinner on the beach after dark, and now conspiring once again about the time. Reaching for the one closest to her, she tickled Danny, who erupted in a fit of laughter, spilling his drink near Jason, who simply brought the other elbow down and watched them, amusement washing him.

"Tell me - tell me or the tickle monster stays out all night."

"Stop, Mommy - stop." His rich, uncontrollable laugher filled the air and made Sam tickle him harder.

"Tell me, if you want me to stop."

"Daddy, make her stop. Mommy, stop - stop. Okay, okay, I'll tell, I'll tell."

Just then a shooting sound echoed behind them and ended in a whoosh that exploded overhead, painting the night sky with vivid colors that sprayed bright, then trailed down to the sand.

"Fireworks?" Sam looked between her men, the younger one with dancing eyes glued to the sky on array after array of colors spraying every which way in rapid succession, while the blue gaze of the older version of her world, was glued on her. "Did you do this?"

"Do you like it, Mommy?" Before she could answer, another giant blast preceded the largest spray yet, igniting the sky in oranges and reds and yellows and whites, back to back to back.

Bubbling with happiness, Sam laughed and threw her arms around Jason's neck as Danny got to his feet and raced towards the water, then laughed out loud when more fireworks exploded above them, spinning and spreading his tiny outstretched arms in glee. Turning to run back to his parents, he pulled something from his pocket and knelt to the sand before them, holding his palm out with the little black box to his mother.

"Mommy, will you marry my daddy?"

The previous laughter dying in her throat, Sam looked in surprise to Jason, who'd gotten up so he could kneel on one knee before her next to Danny, her entire life reflecting in the double sets of ocean blue before her bringing instant tears to brim her own chestnut seers. Choking through a laugh that ended in a gasp for much needed air, Sam's hand went up to press trembling fingers to her lips.

"What do you say, baby? Marry me…again…let's finish this thing we started and take it all the way to the top. Marry me…complete me…again?"

Stupid tears had her throat clogged, the sight of her men on bended knees before her sending her to her own, nodding vigorously through the waterfall that had taken over her cheeks. When Danny opened the box, pulled the ring out and handed it to his dad, Sam blubbered again, her heart full enough to explode like the specks of light going off above them. The ring was on her outstretched finger but she couldn't see a thing past the little blonde haired glob she enfolded in eager arms, then went for the larger one, planting a solid kiss to the lips that descended in search of her own.

"That was a yes, right?"

Jason was so happy he could burst, the mirrored happiness she exuded filling him completely, as he waited anxiously to hear her say the one word that would make his entire year.

 ** _"_** ** _Yes!"_** She clasped his face between firm hands and kissed his lips again, mumbling between each delectable taste, "Yes! Yes! Oh, hell yes!" She kissed him again, then jumped when the loudest boom yet, sounded amid a huge exploding wheel against the skies.

"W-o-wwww!" Danny was up on his feet, neck craned to hold his upturned gaze in admiration of the most impressive sight of the night.

Snuggled in Jason's arms, Sam watched her enthralled little man as he enjoyed the fireworks, then looked all around her at the blessings in her life. She never thought returning to Hawaii could ever be this good, but it was better than anything else they'd had so far. After spending a grueling three weeks from hospital to home, Jason had insisted on taking them away from Port Charles and everything there. Sam knew he was worried about Robin getting to her again - never leaving her side in the hospital or the penthouse after, but he wouldn't admit to it out loud.

When she'd woken up and heard what had happened to her, she'd been livid to get out of that bed and find the little bitch to finish her off herself, but Jason wouldn't let her out of his sight, insisting she limited her movements to keep from opening her wound…and when she got discharged, insisted she recoup on the family vacation they'd been talking about for months. When he'd suggested Hawaii, she'd been reluctant, until she decided no way she would let a very forgettable ghost rob her of her most favorite place in the entire world. Franco Baldwin was dead...and with him was the hell he'd put her and her family through.

The shock when they got there, was finding their old cottage totally demolished. Unknown to her, Jason had it bulldozed as a gift and rebuilt in a more modern, updated version on the inside, with the outside sculpted to fit as naturally into the landscape as the one before. Everything inside was brand new, but the view she remembered from the bedroom window, the spot in the front yard where he'd fixed their ice machine on the first visit, the corner of the yard where they'd cleaned the fish she caught on their second, the lanai where they'd watched the stars at night on the first, second and third…it was all the same. Now they got to share it all with their baby.

Turning her head to look at the handsome face of the man she loved more than the air she breathed, Sam smiled at the look of awe he wore watching their son, then kissed his cheek lightly, before turning to lift her hand in admiration of the sparkling gem.

"Do you like it? We can get another one if you…"

"It's perfect, Jason! It's beautiful and I love it!"

"Your son thought you would. We got it the day I took him riding."

"He did?" She looked over to Danny then leaned her body into her man's arm that circled her tightly and rested at her hip. "You two have been conspiring that long?"

Swallowing a nervous glob in his suddenly tight throat, he made a confession. "I've wanted to do this for quite a while…but I wasn't sure you'd say, yes."

Sam thought for a moment, then unloaded her own confession. "Honestly - I'm not mad that you waited. If you'd done this sooner I might have been hesitant, even though my heart will always say yes to everything about us."

"Was it because…"

Sam tucked a strand of hair behind an ear and snuggled closer. "Yea. You have to admit, when it comes to baggage, we both have some, but yours seem to be in our faces every single day. Your exes…" she shook her head lightly against his shoulder and sighed, "I can handle them, but the way you constantly protect them has been known to give me pause."

"I know." His whisper was barely audible over the waves crashing nearby. "It's hard sometimes, when you know somebody's potential but they keep letting you and themselves down." He looked to the strong woman who'd always supported and loved him through thick, thin, and every layer between. "Still - they've never been as important to me as making you happy, Sam. How you see me..."

"Is this about you not shooting Robin again?"

"Carly thinks I should have." Doubtful eyes fell to the sand as his breathing labored with anxiety. "Do you feel the same way?"

Shaking her head against him, Sam took a breath. "I know you've been riding yourself about that Jason, but I, myself couldn't have shot her if she didn't have a gun…and I hate her!" She chuckled, then raised her head and nudged her elbow into his side, prompting his eyes to lift to her. "You're kind, and gentle, and a good person all the way through. It's why I love you as completely as I do…because no matter how vicious you can be with an enemy, there's a tender side to you that would never callously do something like that. You've never shot _anyone_ who wasn't shooting at you, and I don't expect you to start now. Not to mention, Faith Rosco is the only woman I remember you ever shooting, and she was firing bullets at your head in that church." She bent her head when his eyes wavered, locking them with her own. "I love you for your heart, Jason…I don't ever want you to allow **_anyone_** to blacken it…especially those inconsequential two."

"Do you mean that?"

"Every word." Turning her body to wrap her arms at his neck, she melted into him folding her in tightly. "Our life together isn't about anybody but us - the three of us!"

Squeezing her tightly, Jason relayed every emotion running through him. "So long as you know you and Danny are _everything_ to me…without you there'd be _nothing_ , Sam!"

She was squeezing him just as tightly in return, but her mind had slowly drifted - as soon as she'd said the number. Three of them, yes…but not for the life of her could she recall the last time she'd had to refill her tampons.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"You almost die, and the minute you start to feel better, Jason takes you halfway around the world - away from your family!" Scolding as soon as she opened the door to find her daughter standing on the other side of the knock, Alexis stopped mid sentence and threw her arms around her eldest. "I swear, you're all trying to kill me!"

Hugging her back, Sam smiled as her mother finally let her up for air, stepping over the threshold into the room. "Hello to you too, Mom." Dropping the gifts from laden arms on the nearby table, she turned to the worried matriarch again. "Where's everybody?"

"Out - where else?" Alexis stroked her daughter's hair then moved around her to the sofa, pulling her by the arm to ease them to sit. "Everybody's grown and living their own lives…I consider myself lucky if I spot any of you once a week!"

"Oh, stop exaggerating. Look at it this way…you've done your job and now you can take your life back." Sam patted her mother's hand where it rested between them on the couch. "No more hormonal teenagers to drive you nuts - lucky you!"

"No - just young adults, who know their own minds and milk independence for all its worth to drive me insane. How're you feeling? Did you get your checkups over there? Are you exhausted after that long flight?" She looked anxiously to the door. "Where is Jason? Why does he have you driving around by yourself?"

Throwing her head back at the growing alarm in her mother's voice, Sam grunted and sank into the sofa. "If it were up to you and Jason, I'd never be allowed to leave the house again. Thankfully we still have a business to run, so he had to go check in with Linden to see if it's still standing."

Alexis' eyes shot wide, "So he just left you alone - with that lunatic, Robin still on the loose?"

"I'm not alone…Captain is in the car…which reminds me, I have to go." She stood to her feet as Alexis rose with her, "And Jason thinks he's slick…he has a tail on me that I'm gonna have to train better because I spotted them almost as soon as I left the penthouse."

Alexis was nodding as she trailed her to the front door. "Good - at least he hasn't lost his complete mind and I won't have to kill him for leaving you vulnerable again."

Turning to drop a kiss on her mom's cheek, Sam waved bye out the door. "You worry too much…take a nap…it'll relax you!"

Minutes later, she'd lost the tail, whom she decided to test to see just how poor they really were, and pulled up to the waterfront, where she decided to take a short walk, already heartsick for the Hawaiian shore. Stopping to look out across the water at a departing cargo ship, she reached down to rub Captain's head at her side, her mind straying to the brown paperbag in the glove compartment she'd ducked into the drugstore for.

"Well, well - look who's finally resurfaced? Tired of running like a scared little rabbit?"

Turning to the woman she'd been dying to face again, Sam eyed the blatant contempt she openly returned. With a toss of her hand, she watched Captain take off down the docks after the bouncing tennis ball.

"Scared? At least I don't hide behind hired goons to settle my beef. I have the guts to face my opponents and look them in the eye when I pull a trigger."

The cold laugh sounded against the hooting horn of the departing ship. "Only peasants get their hands dirty when they can hire someone for the job." She laughed out loud again, "Jason will never be able to shoot me - you know that, right? He had the perfect opportunity that night, and whimpered out like a little bitch. I finally see what you two have in common."

Sam's answering chuckle was mockingly deadly as she looked to the water and back to the gloating woman. "Why would I need my man to take out garbage I can trash myself? Let's go, bitch - take your best shot!"

"Okay." With a resigned shrug of her shoulders, Robin pulled a nine from the pocketbook hanging from her shoulder, dropping it to the ground in the process and taking direct aim at Sam's face, getting no satisfaction from the lack of any change in the disgusted look there, absolutely no fear in the eyes she was looking forward to seeing cower and beg. "Want something done right…"

"Well, would you look at that…little Robin, holding a firearm. If only Sonny could see you now…all the lectures he said he received from perfect Dr. Scorpio-Drake, on the evils of the gun. How the mighty have fallen."

"Thanks to you, I finally grew up and did away with the blind eye I've been turning for years. No more! You don't get to just take my life and not suffer the consequences. Jason does't get to take and take everything I gave up for him, and just turn his back like I didn't exist anymore. I'm sick of you all - Lisa, Patrick, you, Jason…you all had it coming!"

"What are you prattling on about looneytoon?"

"I'm talking about everybody else who's had to pay a price - not the people who _really_ deserved to. Patrick's brother lost his life and is still rotting in that prison for killing the crazy bitch who just wouldn't leave me alone - even though he had nothing to do with why she targeted us! **_I_** lost everything important to me - my daughter, my husband, my home, my career - because you couldn't resist what wasn't yours to take! Just like you couldn't resist taking Jason away from Elizabeth, who had him first and deserved to have a life with him! We are the ones who've had to pay, while you got to live your sweet little lives like you never destroyed ours!"

"So wait - where was all this crazy when Lisa Niles was wiping the floor with your face day and night, sleeping with the husband you were **_still_** married to at the time, and owning you like a puppet on a string every chance she got? _HER,_ you couldn't handle - but me, who fell in love with a **_divorcee_** and planned a life for our children - the child **_you_** made him believe you'd abandoned - _me,_ you want dead?"

 ** _"_** ** _YES! YES - I WANT YOU DEAD!_** I'm sick of it! Sick of you, sick of Patrick, sick of that pathetic user you were married to! I want you all gone!"

Cocking her head, Sam asked calmly, "That's the second time you mentioned Patrick in that lineup - the man you're doing all of this over has now made your Hitlist?"

The cold, hysterical laughter that followed the question iced Sam to the bone, as she watched the woman throw her head back in crazed merriment.

"You can say hello to him when you see him in hell."

Sam couldn't believe her ears. "You killed, Patrick? Your daughter's father? The only parent who cared enough to always stay, regardless of what was happening around her? How sick are you?"

The cocking of the gun got Sam's full attention, reminding her just how far gone the woman was, her intent more than crystal clear. The growl was drawing closer and Sam knew she had no time to get to the piece at the small of her back. Even though she suspected the doctor to be a terrible shot, given her well known disdain for firearms, she was standing close enough where she'd have to be a complete imbecile to miss at that distance, and despite the hundred derogatory adjectives she could use to describe the woman, imbecile could never be one. Batshit crazy like the nurse, sure, but imbecile, no.

Counting the gun out, she had one other deadly weapon at her disposal. Locking eyes with the cold, steely hate she returned with a vengeance, she said the words she never had before.

"Captain… ** _KILL!"_**

At the command, Robin turned her head frantically to the loud bark that preceded the Doberman leaping for her throat, squeezing the trigger right before she felt piercing fangs that gored the skin at her neck. Her finger stuck on the trigger pressed repeatedly as she felt herself falling backwards, new tears ripping through her chest before her back and head smashed the wooden dock and she fired again, only from the spasming of her finger still tight on the trigger as she felt the life force drain from several portals and blue, blue skies above her shone soft to the slow closing of heavy, heavy eyelids.

Horrified, Sam scrambled from where she'd thrown herself to the ground after giving the command, trying to check on Captain still gripping the neck of the lifeless woman, but giant arms had encircled her and were now lifting her of the ground.

"Jason! Where did you come from?"

He wanted to answer her but the panic was still too fresh, allowing him only the effort it took to clasp her to his chest, his legs giving out and sending him to the ground still holding her in his arms for dear life! When he'd turned the corner and beheld the sight before him, the woman he'd just gotten back from the jaws of death, standing there again on the end of a madwoman's gun, unarmed and vulnerable, instinct had taken over to where he couldn't even remember fisting the gun from his back, pressing the trigger until the clip clicked empty, even as her guard dog was leaping to action. Heavy feet ran him midst shooting, diving for her before the woman even hit the ground on her back.

It wasn't until she squirmed in his arms that he realized he was squeezing the very life from her he'd just shot the lunatic to preserve. Finally able to breathe himself again, he gasped the questions forefront in his mind, as he released her to inspect for himself.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No." Throwing her arms around his neck, she squeezed tightly, realizing he needed to feel her. "I'm okay. I'm okay." Lifting her eyes, she noticed her trusty companion still had hold of his prey and was unharmed. "Captain, heel boy." Easing from Jason's arms, she ambled to reach her dog, rubbing his head vigorously. "Good boy…good boy."

Running footsteps sounded down the stairs heading their way. "Boss! Mrs. Morgan…are you okay?"

Standing to his feet, Jason tried to bring Sam with him but she was still petting Captain. "Where the hell were you two? How did the woman I hired you to protect her from, get so close to my wife?"

Rising to her feet, Sam tried diffusing the newly charged situation as the two men shifted in place, anxiously avoiding Jason's eyes.

"Jason, it's okay. It's not their fault - I gave them the slip."

"What? Why would you do that, Sam?" He didn't want to feel angry at her but she knew people were gunning for her!

"I'm sorry, but I needed a few minutes to myself." She stepped to his side and engulfed one arm, effectively pulling it into her body as she leaned closer, eyeing the two ashamed men before them. "I'm sorry guys - I shouldn't have made your jobs harder - it won't happen again." When they shifted nervously and backed up to leave, she waved timidly to their nods, feeling bad for getting them in trouble with an angry Jason. "Thank you." Turning to face the music, she jostled the arm she was still clutching close to her body, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Yes, you will." Angry that he could feel the anger at her fading, Jason pulled to retrieve his arm and step away from her touch that was working her magic. "You knew what you were doing and it left you wide open. She was about to shoot you, Sam!" The air caught in his throat at the image that resurfaced in his brain, "She almost shot you - at close range!"

Closing the space he'd just widened between them, Sam grabbed his arm again, clutching tighter this time so he could feel the vibrant beating of her heart at her breast. "I'm fine. Feel this…" she clutched him desperately to her and let the throbbing slowly soothe his anger, "I'm standing right her…just fine."

They stood like that for a full minute, eyes never wavering as they grounded one to the other. His next chastising statement was barely a whisper.

"She had a gun."

"I had a dog."

Allowing the smile to spread from her eyes that bore through him, she waited for her words to sink in, smiling wider when they did and he smirked. "You had a killer dog."

Nodding, she lifted the hand she was still clasping to her chest to rub against her lowered cheek, "Given to me by my very protective, very thoughtful, very _forgiving_ soulmate." She kissed the fingers then lowered the hand as she turned to look at the lifeless body spread out closeby, drowning in a sea of red that poured from everywhere. Sam knew she should feel something but barely did, knowing if the woman had been left to have her way, that would have been her instead!

"Need help with that?"

Both looked up to find Brent Riley, descending the steps towards them, inclining his head in the direction of a dead Robin Scorpio-Drake.

 _ **A/N: This one is feeling like a wrap - one or two chapters left. As always, thank you so much for reading...see you soon for the final wrap up.**_


	59. Chapter 59

"Why would we take the help of a co-conspirator?" Jason stepped in the man's path, blocking his approach.

Shoulders squaring, Brent met the icy gaze of the man in obvious protection mode, and he remembered why. Jason Morgan would kill for Sam Morgan! Pointing around him to the evidence to that effect, he tried making amends with initiative.

"I was a pawn who thought we fell in love, but she was only using me, from the start. I didn't even know I had been hypnotized until that night…I thought she loved me. It was never my intention to harm anyone…least of all, Sam."

"No?" Refusing to give him the tiniest room to cause Sam anymore pain, Jason took a threatening step that sent Brent taking one backwards. "You hired people who tried to kill her - was that a coincidence?" Thinking how very close he'd come to losing her this time still shorted his breath with dread. "I should shoot you right here."

Hearing a resurge of quiet anger, Sam touched Jason lightly on the arm and inclined her head to Brent, "Why are you here?"

Clearing a thankful throat at her insertion into a tense situation that was growing lethal, Brent nodded in appreciation of the PI's calm disposition, seeing the evident effect she had on the man ready to slit his throat.

"I owe you. None of this was my idea but I was used to hurt your family…let me make it up to you by doing what I do…I can clean this up."

"So can I!" Snapping out his irritation at the unwelcome attempt at camaraderie, Jason relayed his displeasure clearly, "I don't need your help!"

Squeezing lightly at the arm she still braced, Sam kept her eyes at the apologetic man before them as she spoke to her stubborn companion, "Yes, you do." Facing his rising objection she gestured to the scene, "There's a lot of cleanup to do and the police are more than likely enroute. There were a lot of shots - _somebody_ called that in by now."

"We don't need to clean anything up - I turned the corner and saw her about to shoot you, so I shot her first - end of story."

"Jason, this is the PCPD we're talking about here - they'll lock you up first and ask questions later."

"It's the middle of the day, on the pier, Sam…there are too many witnesses and too many loose ends to be able to tidy this one neatly. I'll let the police handle it."

Brent tried again, "I agree…" Stretching an open palm to Jason, "…give me the gun - I'll tell them I did it."

Shaking his head at the audacity of the offer, Jason snapped again, "Like I said - I throw out my own trash!"

Only an idiot would've missed the real meaning behind that threat and judging from the dawning look of the man before them, Sam could tell he got the full picture finally. When he nodded and left towards Sonny's warehouse, she turned back to Jason.

"You still think he's dirty?"

"Every part of him…but he's Sonny's problem."

Surprised, she raised a brow and crossed arms before her. "You've never turned a blind eye on anything concerning Sonny and Carly, Jason - what gives?"

With a shrug, Jason allowed his eyes to tell his heart what it needed to calm down, its still erratic race indicative of his inner dread at just how close he'd really just been to losing her. If he'd been delayed - if he hadn't shown up right when he did…even with Captain's teeth at her throat, Robin still might have gotten a shot off in the right direction. With a shiver, he forced his thoughts back on the present. She was okay. She was standing right before him.

"Carly and Sonny survived for years without me, Sam…they can run their own lives. If Sonny chooses to have him around, with what he knows, that's his business. He can handle the fallout too."

Surprise growing, Sam listened in awe. "What's brought this on? You've always taken your promise to them so seriously…always took care of them."

"I did…and I've always looked out for Michael like he was my own. But even he's a grown man now…he has to make his own mistakes and live his own life…in spite of what I think. His parents can certainly do the same." His eyes narrowed at her puzzled expression, "What?"

"It's just surprising, that's all." She fell silent for a minute, before finishing her thought, "I just never thought I'd see the day."

The faint sound of approaching sirens announced the impending arrival of the police. Stepping to the side of her, Jason looked down at the former friend who'd threatened everything he loved.

"It had to come sometime…even children grow up and learn to fend for themselves…why not two grown adults, who never listen to anything that goes against what they really want to do, until it blows up in their faces?"

"Indeed." Watching his own words take root in his mind, Sam waited for the moment he'd retract, as soon as it dawned that Sonny and Carly will forever be grown children always in need of saving from themselves.

The sirens that had been getting louder and louder, fell silent, replaced by hastening footsteps in their direction. With an assuring squeeze at her elbow, Jason turned from Sam to greet the arriving officers and started to calmly explain the grizzly scene.

To Sam's surprise, they were allowed to leave after giving statements to the detective, who advised them against leaving town and he'd be in touch with followup questions, once he'd had a chance to interview nearby witnesses. Not wasting any time, she steered Jason and Captain towards their offices to wrap up the harrowing day.

But when all he did was pace the floors with long, slender fingers flexing and curling again and again, Sam shut down the computers to call it a wrap.

"Okay…" walking up behind him as he turned for the hundredth stroll across the room, she reached upstretched arms to grab his shoulders, essentially stopping the march, then kneaded the tightness she found there. Guiding him to the chair before her desk, she pressed and pushed downward, "…please sit - you're extremely tense."

With a sigh, Jason took the offered chair, then closed tired eyes to the glorious feel of her fingers working the knot in his neck.

"That feels good."

"Wish I could say the same for your shoulders." Working her hands outwards, Sam rubbed the tightness then repeated the same back in towards his neck, easing his head forward as she stroked out his worries. "What's bothering you?"

With another sigh, head kept bent and neck loosening, Jason tried to let the frustration go.

"It's nothing - I just…"

Not letting up on releasing the knots tying him, Sam offered her own thoughts on his current state of mind. "Let me guess…not running after Carly and Sonny to clean up the mess isn't as easy as you thought it was going to be?"

"It shouldn't be this hard - I haven't done it in a long time."

"You didn't remember them - now you do. It's not so easy to watch people you love in trouble and not help."

"They're not in trouble."

"Maybe not yet…but you sense they will be. Same thing."

"But what can I do about it, Sam? I already warned him - he's not listening to me. Carly never listens to anybody."

"Exactly. You already know how stubborn they are - especially when they're wrong."

Turning in the chair to find her, Jason searched the face of the woman he loved.

"I thought you'd be happy with this…I finally put down a task I should've handed off years ago…which means I'll have plenty more time for us, for our family, our business…how come you're questioning it?"

Palming a cheek on his puzzled face, Sam imparted a loving smile to her lifeline, "I don't care about any of that, Jason…you've always made time for us and I know that won't change. I just don't want you to do something rash that will make you miserable."

"It's not rash, Sam. I think it's a natural progression that had to happen some time…why not now? Look at Michael - he was just a baby when I made the pledge to always be there, and I kept it like a parent, even though he's not mine, and even he doesn't need me as much anymore."

"Michael is your brother's child, and despite how you felt about AJ, family has always meant a great deal to you. You didn't claim him just because he was Carly's…he's also your _nephew_ …whom you do love like a son."

"I always will…but I have to let him grow up." Moving to the window, he looked to the far horizon shimmering with the reflective lights of the setting sun, "Hell, he already did - while I wasn't watching."

Rubbing his back slowly, Sam sidled next to him and followed his gaze out to sea, "You didn't leave because you wanted to."

"I know."

But it still hurt, all the time he'd lost with them. She knew how much that still killed him.

"Are you sure you don't want to see this through to the end with Sonny and Carly?"

A long, silent minute ensued where they both watched the waves, then Jason faced her again. "I came home to find alot changed in my absence, and as much as I hate that I couldn't remember everything at first, that memory loss probably saved me too."

"How do you mean?"

"Everything was so different when I awoke from that accident…you thought I'd died and left you alone, so you'd moved on from me…Danny had no idea who I was…Sonny killed my mother's son without proof he was the one who killed Kate…Carly, my best friend and biggest champion - next to you - got close enough to the pig who hurt you and had her son raped, to believe she was in love with him…" a huge sigh escaped on a shake of his head, "…I don't know if I could've handled all that with my memories intact back then."

"What about now?" She faced him and grabbed fistfuls of his dark t-shirt as questioning eyes bored his, "You and I are back where we belong, our son is on cloud nine to have you back - just as I am - and Carly, Sonny, and Michael are your family…you chose them to be, and wrong or right, good or bad…they're still your family. It would only hurt you if you turned your back now, because you _do_ have your memory back and we may have all grown up since then, Jason, but we haven't changed."

"Yes, we have, Sam."

"Okay, maybe we have - but not fundamentally, where it matters. Not deep down."

"Deep down, I honestly can't understand how Carly could have allowed Franco anywhere near her. Even if she managed to overlook what he did to you…I don't know how my _best friend_ could stomach a piece of shit who hurt the woman she knew to be my heart…but even if she did - how could she **_ever_** forgive what he did to **_Michael?"_**

"Not easily."

Captain lifted his head from where he sprawled in one corner, then lowered it in relaxation again following the soft words from the open doorway that had brought Jason and Sam to see Carly, who had stopped just inside, open palms pressed at her thighs against the blue, sleeveless sheath dress as she faltered, then entered the room fully, stopping just in front of Jason to tuck the bouncy blonde curls behind one ear and glance sadly at Sam, then lowered her head to the disapproving scowl of her best friend.

"I knew one day I'd have to answer to you for that, and I've been dreading it since the moment your DNA test was confirmed."

"I just don't get it, Carly. How could that have _possibly_ happened?"

Head hung in deserved shame, Carly struggled as she dug for the explanation she'd always known she'd one day need to give.

"He was so different from the monster you knew, Jason. The doctors said it was the tumor that had caused all of it, that he wasn't really evil, and for a while there we thought he was the only one who could help Danny - and I would've done _anything_ to save your little boy - _anything_."

"So it was about Danny?"

"No." The vigorous shaking of her head held all the confidence she didn't have to face his disappointed eyes. "I was so lost without you. Even since before you'd disappeared, when you'd let me know I was no longer first with you…that since you and Sam got engaged I had to get used to doing things on my own and not rely on you like I always had, for every little thing. And then you died, and I didn't have you at all and I didn't know what to do. I covered for Sonny when he lied to Michael, and he cut me off every bit as easily as he did Sonny…and you weren't here to help us find our way back. We were all such a mess without you to guide us, me especially." She picked at invisible chips at her nails. "He was kind to me. He listened to me the way you used to - he was there for me…and I needed that at the time, Jason. I needed you and you weren't there…but he was."

Turning away from her, Jason looked briefly to where Sam had edged back to the desk to give them privacy, then shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck that was no longer as loose as Sam's touch had left it. With a low scoff, he returned to the window.

"Do you know what _I_ remember? Aside from that **_animal_** strapping you to a chair, where he would've tied a bomb to you if I hadn't shown up so quickly - aside from him threatening your baby daughter - even aside from me having to scrape my **_shattered_** new bride off the wet floor of our honeymoon shower…or your traumatized teenage son from the confines of his mind when he struggled month after month, to cope with what had been done to him…besides all the grief, I remember **_pleading_** with you to leave Dante to me, and you refusing, roaring full speed ahead to wreck his life…why? Because of the part he played in Michael ending up in jail in the first place. You were gunning to ruin his life and make him pay for hurting Michael - so for me to hear that you not only forgave the filth **_directly_** responsible for setting that pig on him in the first place, but to actually _be with him?"_ His head shook with the incredulity of the words he spoke and the images they conjured. "The Carly I know would've fed him his balls and watch him choke them down before she ever let that happen."

"I know - I know, you're right!" The words spluttered through pained anguish at the disappointment ringing his words. "That's just how lost I was without you, Jason. I kept digging hole after hole and nobody else was there to bail me out, like you always did. I couldn't function without you there to talk me down - to come get me. I just couldn't."

"That's a cop out, Carly. Next to Sam, I don't know anyone stronger...and it's a far cry from forgiving injuries against _you_ , to forgiving them against _your child_ and forgetting them. If you had to forgive him for your peace of mind, then so be it - but to insist on making him Michael's _**stepfather?**_ Part of his life day in, day out - after what he did? What the hell, Carly?"

"Jason, I know - believe me, I see it all clearly now and it sickens me to think about...but back then...I just wasn't myself. I'm sorry, Jase - I'm so sorry."

There was a long silence that followed them both chasing the thoughts running rampant through them, and when Carly sniffled and rubbed her nose with the back of one hand, Jason sighed and stepped forward to take the other.

"It is what it is - we can't change anything that happened in the past."

"Does that mean that you forgive me?"

"There's nothing for me to forgive."

"Yes, there is. You're disappointed in me and you have a right to be."

"Maybe I'm more surprised than anything else. It's definitely not what I expected to hear about the Carly who kicked the life out of Nico to save Sam and her unborn baby from him - who hated Sam but knew her safety was important to me…who fights like a tigress to protect her children - always."

"I know, Jason and I'd take it back if I could. I'd take everything about that miserable mistake back."

"We can't go back." He squeezed the hand he held in reassurance. "We can only live today…and today, I have a family who needs me - and I need them."

Something didn't sound right. His words forgave her but left her also. "What are you trying to say?"

"That we cannot change the past and we cannot go back. I have to give my family everything they deserve…I have to be here like I haven't been, until now."

"Meaning what?" The dread in her gut told her she already knew.

"That I can't be there to clean up every mess you and Sonny make without thinking. That I'll never turn my back if I see you've fallen…but that I really hope you'll be falling a whole lot less, because my attention needs to be on raising Danny and rebuilding my life with Sam."

Sam gnawed on the eraser of the pencil held in one hand as she leaned back in the swivel chair and watched the awe-producing scene unfold across the room that never in her lifetime had she thought to behold. Jason loving her had meant everything, but she honestly never ever expected to be put truly first with him. From the very beginning, she'd seen the importance of the people in his life, and she'd seamlessly fallen into place as the woman he loved who fiercely loved him just as he was, without any demands to a change in ranking - never needing one, since he _always_ showed up when she needed him. Always. Yet, here he was, mere feet away from her, doing something she never thought to witness. Okay, so he'd said it before, but she'd never put much stock in that since she knew he'd keep on doing what came naturally, and she really didn't mind, as long as he came home to her. But this was different. It had been months since he'd woken up and remembered his entire life, yet he hadn't gone running back to the status quo. He hadn't gone back to work with Sonny like before, and even though Carly was still his best friend and he obviously loved her very much, he had drawn invisible boundaries and had stuck to them, devoting his time to family first, and the rest second. And now he'd actually put it into words. Wow!

When both sets of eyes turned her way, Sam startled and yanked her feet from the desk, sitting upright as the pencil clattered to the ground. Clearing her throat, she bridled at being caught staring, then gestured to an ear, "Occupational hazard…to listen without even meaning to." She cleared her throat again when they approached the desk, Jason wearing that knowing smirk that would forgive her anything, melting her insides with its sexy - Carly, smiling through the lightness that arose to spell the air had finally been cleared.

"It's okay, Sam…we're all family here…there's nothing said you couldn't hear." Pursing then unpursing her lips, Carly looked between the two, "Truthfully, you deserved an explanation as well."

Surprised, Sam stopped fidgeting to eye the blonde, "Why?"

"Because you and I have become very close friends, so I owed it to you to explain why I could love someone who'd done that to you."

"I never thought you loved him, Carly…not really. I mean, how could you - when you loved Jason so much."

"I do, you know?" She looked to Jason then back to the astute PI who's friendship had surprisingly grown to mean so much. "I love you both - and I need you to know I never really loved him. I was confused and spiraling without purpose, without filter…without my safety net. I'm sorry I forced you to have to deal with that. Thank goodness you don't have to ever again." She eyed the couple again, catching the quick look that passed between them. "Everybody's been talking about how suddenly he left town. Some think he blew up on that boat, others believe he just pulled one of his infamous disappearing acts. Me…I get the feeling he finally reaped a little bit more than he bargained for and found himself on a highway that ran out of road, and I say - good riddance."

Sliding onto the edge of the desk, Jason looked to the beautiful face of his fiancé and smiled. "I think it's high time for some happiness around here again - don't you?"

"Yes - I agree!" A high-pitched shriek caught Jason and Sam off guard when Carly grabbed the hand Sam had just extended to get the waterbottle from her desk. **_"Speaking of!"_** Stomping her feet, she brimmed the brightest smile and yanked Sam into a bear hug, "OhMyGod, why didn't you say anything?"

When she was finally released so Carly could drag her hand for a closer look at the sparkling diamond, Sam rubbed an offended ear and pinched one eye shut, "I would, if I wasn't deaf in one ear."

"I'm sorry - I'm just so happy for you guys. Finally!" She slapped Jason's arm with her free hand, "OhMyGod, I thought you'd never get there - what took you so long?"

Finding the eyes of the woman he loved, Jason could feel the energy in the room had completely changed, "Took a while to lock her down. Turns out she's a little skittish about _forever."_

Smiling at the sudden leap of her heart at the delightfully fulfilling prospect, Sam winked at the man she loved. "Not with you." Watching the charged look that swept his beautiful blue eyes knocked her windless and shook her to the knees. Forever with Jason Morgan…please God, sign her up!

Feeling his heart leap in the familiar dance that synced the rhythm of its mate, he gave a silent thanks to the universe aligning to once again place him in heaven, "So you'll marry me, today?" Had the pain-filled life he'd endured, marred by conflict and losses, spearheaded with the interspersed occasional detour from her, all been preparing him to love her in this breath-depriving, ultimate and consuming form? Had it all been guiding him to the reward at the end so sweet? How was it that the force of what he felt for her left him feeling like he'd never loved before her? Nothing he'd ever felt consumed him the way her shining brown eyes, or mischievous smile left him a constant resident on cloud nine.

The flush of reddening cheeks announced the pitter patter heart-racing pulsations through her, blue eyes killing her softly with enamored depths that drowned her soul in fulfillment. Did everyone in love feel like this? Was this man sculpted for her from the start? Was the long, arduous, tedious journey all the while leading her to this heaven found in loving him?

Carly looked from one to the other of her friends, acutely aware that she'd been forgotten in their midst, as she watched them, feet apart and not a single surface touching, yet electrifying each other and everything around them. Burned by the charge they emitted, her heart filled with joy for their happiness, and she knew immediately what she needed to do.

"Ooh, I have a great idea! Let me do it - let me plan your wedding - please?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sonny snapped the lighter open and closed as he sank back into the Italian leather of the oversized office chair, his mind boggled by what he'd learned moments before. Robin, dead? And for real this time? Memories of the sweet young girl who'd stayed faithful and true to his dying friend, who'd battled demons and disease to come out victorious year after year - one unfortunate circumstance after the other, had surprised the hell out of him with her jaunt on the darkside…and now there was no longer time for redemption.

Earlier, he'd been at the hospital when Patric Drake was wheeled in, found by a colleague slumped over in his car in the hospital parking garage, suffering from a gunshot wound. He'd chastised himself when his gut had wondered if it was her, and then he heard about Sam and he knew he'd been right. She had embarked on a killing spree that ended with her as a victim and he still couldn't believe it.

With the lighter snapping open and shut, open and shut in an outstretched hand on the dark oak desk, he watched the man across the room going over shipping routes, and that tiny, uneasy feeling in the back of his head grew another inch. He was no doubt very skilled and knowledgeable in ways that had proven beneficial to Sonny, but was it all too good to be true? Though he'd given him leeway and room to navigate so he could prove himself - and he had, he'd kept hidden scrutiny of every move made, but found nothing so far. The henchmen he'd hired at Robin's insistence had been with Sonny's blessing, since he'd brought it to him first. Why not - he'd thought to prove to his little sister that he still trusted and loved her - a move that almost cost him dearly. But Brent had been forthcoming with the request, so he couldn't justly lay blame at his feet. But was that the plan all along? Had he known what was to happen and had merely covered his ass before shit hit the fan?

His eyes fell on the lighter that snapped open and closed, and he missed the days when he had his brother to bounce these problems off. Bounce off, pass onto - with one phonecall to Jason he could've considered the entire thing handled and forgotten. But not anymore. His problems were his to handle - that was clear now. Did he even remember how?


	60. Chapter 60

_"Hurricane?_ You can't be serious?"

"Afraid so darlin' - it's hurricane season."

"Yeah - in **_Florida_** \- not upstate New York."

"They're whirling wind and rain - they travel. Mainly down south, yes, but they feed on warm water, so can go in any direction. We're not getting the full brunt of it here but the weather station is predicting high winds and lots of rain in the next twenty-four hours. They'll just have to postpone the wedding." They were so high up in the Crimson offices that she could actually feel as though the building shifted with the wind.

"That's it, isn't it? That's what this is about…you want to stop Sam marrying Jason!"

Turning from where she'd moved near Maxie's desk, Alexis tried to sound offended, "Don't be ridiculous - I couldn't exactly rustle up a hurricane, and Sam has never listened to what I want her to do."

"Doesn't prevent you from trying. "Why - what's gotten you against their nuptials now?"

"I'm not against it. Not really…it's just…it was nice, during the time he was missing…"

 ** _"Mom!"_**

"I don't mean it like that - I just mean, she wasn't in any danger anymore." The disapproving look from her middle daughter urged Alexis to further explain herself, "She dressed up all the time, in bright colors, I might add - dresses even! She was completely different…and safe! My daughter was on the verge of becoming a surgeon's wife, for goodness sakes!"

"And we barely recognized her. Mom, when Jason died, Sam put on a brave front for Danny - tried her best to give him a safe life, even went as far as getting involved with men she thought would make good role models. But she completely changed from the Sam we knew and became a shell of herself! Have you seen her lately? She's glowing! She's back to the career she loves, with the man she's always loved…her family is intact and happy, and Jason is a big part of that. How do you not see that?"

"I do see it." She sighed in exasperation of none of them ever being able to understand her concern for their wellbeing. "What's wrong with making a family with someone safe, is what I want to know?"

"Nothing…but it's not Sam. You and I both know Sam and Jason are adrenaline junkies and even when they don't go looking for it, trouble will find them. They get a kick out of living life, Mom, and would both be miserable if restricted. We don't want that for her, do we?"

"Of course not. I want my happy girl, always." With a sigh of defeat, Alexis palmed her daughter's face between loving hands, "I just wish I could keep you three in a bubble where nothing ever hurts you."

The opening elevator deposited Maxie and Sam, who smiled at the women impatiently waiting for them. Kristina pulled Sam into a hug as Maxie whisked by.

"Save that for later - we need to hurry up and beat this storm. Sam, fitting room - stat!" She was already halfway down the hallway to the closet, where the two dresses she'd marked earlier hung in wait.

"Yes, ma'am!" Smiling, Sam grabbed the hands of both women and pulled them along to follow Maxie. Kristina hopped to catch up and squeezed the hand gripping hers.

"I can't believe you're getting a traditional dress for your wedding to Jason - and don't think I don't notice how thrilled you are this time."

Waging a losing battle on the smile spreading through her, Sam ducked inside the fitting room, away from the scrutiny, brimming at her sister's words as the first dress fell into place. Krissy was right - she _was_ blissfully happy. Last time she'd tried a gown on it had felt like duty - something she needed to do to insure her son's future and move on for all their sakes. This time…this time it was as thrilling as it was the first time she married the man she adored, in jeans and a tee. Maybe even more so…she smoothed the slight rise of her tummy and smiled wider at her reflection…this time they had even more to be thrilled about.

"Come on, Sam - let's see!" Kristina had never pretended to be patient for anything and she was dying to see her big sis in the dress she'd wear to complete her happiness, and moments later, she wasn't disappointed when the vision in ivory and white exited the fitting room to the clasping of her hands over smiling lips. "That's it, sissy… _that's_ the one!"

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"Jason - thanks for coming." Sonny turned to the opened door of the restaurant and rested an elbow to the bar, offering the stool next to him to the man sprinkled by the rain that had caught him running in from the car. "Conan just made lunch - can I get you anything?"

"No thanks - I'm fine." Taking the stool, leaving one between them, Jason waved off Conan, who'd waited to take his order. "You said you wanted to talk?"

"Yah." It didn't really phase Sonny his friend wanted to get straight to the point - he kinda did too. "I've been thinking about our current situation and I had a conversation with Diane this morning about the best way to move forward."

"Okay?"

"I respect your decision to stay out of the business, still, you're part owner of the coffee import and the majority of our legitimate holdings…the real estate, the shell companies, the fleet of ships…I imagine you probably want me to buy you out?"

"I honestly haven't given it much thought Sonny. My family is provided for - the PI business is doing very well and I have the offshore accounts and stockholdings…we're not hurting for money."

"I never thought you were. I just figured you'd want a clear line drawn between what was legitimate and not - given your decision."

He knew it. "That's not why I'm here." The slight fidgeting confirmed his suspicion. If this was just about their joint holdings, they would be having this conversation in Diane Miller's office. "You want me to tell you what to do about **_your_** decision."

A quick glance upwards from where his head bowed, Sonny knew he should have known better. "Okay. I won't waste your time…I'm starting to think I might have made a series of bad calls recently."

Jason said nothing as he waited for him to continue, already aware of what was coming.

"I didn't see how far Robin had fallen, I might have been hasty in hiring her partner, and I certainly should have vetoed hiring those guys she recommended. Carly and Sam were almost killed because I wasn't paying attention."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"That's what I'm hoping you'll help me decide."

"Come up with anything?"

"I have a tail on him twenty-four-seven, but nothing's turned up yet."

"I'm not surprised. He's going to expect that…you have to anticipate his next move and be there when he makes it. Instead of a tail anyone with a brain will spot, bug him. This is the electronic age…give Bryk a call and get a few of those gadgets he's peddling, to find out what you need to know."

Nodding in agreement, Sonny couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier. Bryk always had some new ingenuity he was dying to show off. What better way to get one step ahead of the enemy?

"See why it will never be the same without you?"

Rising to his feet, Jason offered a noncommittal shrug. "Hey, we all did fine before - it'll work out. I have to go - need to grab my tux before Danny and I go meet Sam."

Sonny followed to his feet and towards the front door. "You're still going ahead, in this storm?"

"It could be firing hail and brimstone, like from the Bible - nothing is stopping my wedding to Sam."

"Okay - I'll see you there."

"You don't have to…we told all of our guests to batten down at home…we don't expect anyone to risk getting hurt for us."

"You and Sam are still my family, Jason…that doesn't change because we no longer work together." Despite the new lump in his throat, Sonny knew he needed to be clear. "Nothing changes that."

With a furtive look to the man he'd called brother for as long as he could remember, Jason was again struggling with the biggest obstacle that now lived between them.

"That would have been enough to stop you once."

His meaning stabbed Sonny through the heart, and the right words failed him the way he'd always known they would, the day this finally came up between them.

"I was wrong, and I can't tell you how much it eats me up since the day I realized it."

Jason knew that. He knew Sonny's remorse had often sent him to that dark place they all feared he'd one day never be able to come back from…but Sonny's remorse was no comfort to his mother's loss after she'd already lost so much. That knowledge changed something between them. Something irreparable.

"I don't get it. Family means everything to you. Ric worked tirelessly for years to lock you up, to destroy everything you know and love - and you forgave him, welcomed him as your brother…because in the end he was family." His shoulders shrugged with a sharp incline of his head, "We knew AJ as a useless, scheming drunk who was consumed by his own greed, but from what I heard, Michael got to meet a better him. They'd built a bond finally, despite you, me, Carly…how could you look at the father he loved and just…?"

The shame he'd always felt at his actions that day swept Sonny like a typhoon, the disappointed look on the face of the man he respected above all others, compounding it the more.

"I couldn't see it then. All I saw was the pig who'd taken my last chance at happiness, snuffed her life like she was nothing, just to hide his ridiculous secret." He felt his lips tremble as he imagined the pain he'd inflicted on a mother who had never looked at him with anything but derision, accusing he had robbed her of both her sons. "If I could take it back I would." Quivering lips trembled more with the intensity of his regret. "I'm sorry, Jason."

Pursing his own lips to stave the rush of emotions the raw moment threatened to rip open, Jason nodded and made to turn, then stopped, his gaze falling upon the rain-streaked window.

"What's done is done. Nothing you or I do can change it for Monica, much as we'd like to…and Michael has forgiven you." His hand fell on the doorknob and he paused once more, but no other words would sound. Deciding it better to leave it that way, he opened the door and jogged the short rainy distance to the car that would take him to what mattered most in his life.

 _What about you?_ The unasked question blazed Sonny's unsettled mind as he watched the best friend he'd ever had his entire life, turn from him in a finality that blatantly spelled the end of that closeness that had roared between them so solidly. It felt deserved. Jason had wanted to kill Ric many times over, but Sonny's insistence on him being blood had been enough to stop him each time. He should have lived his own words.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Only you and Jason wouldn't let something like a _major hurricane_ stop you from doing what you want!"

Sam smiled as she recalled Monica's earlier words. She tweaked a bouncy curl of dark brown before turning away from the mirror in the small dressing room of the church, taking a quick glance out the window at the increasing downpour. Relishing the moments of solitude she'd been left while they all finalized everything and lit candles throughout the church that a bolt of lightning had plunged into darkness, she turned back to the mirror, once more running a slow hand over her little secret. She'd convinced Maxie that the snugness of the dress was owing to a rather large lunch - something that had earned her a side eye but had staved further questions. She'd tell no-one before the man she knew would be over the moon at the news.

She'd planned on telling him first thing that morning, knowing he'd soon guess by how the last two mornings he'd woken to her rushing from the bed to make it to the bathroom in time. He thought something she ate was making her sick, but she knew that wouldn't last much longer, so she'd planned to share the news before their wedding, but had woken only to a note on his pillow. Moving slowly to the mirror that brimmed a reflection of blissful happiness, she smiled at the memory of the words that started her day…

 _Dear Sam,_

 _Happy Wedding Day! You look so perfect lying there, I didn't dream of waking you, so Danny and I will make a quick run and I'll meet you before God to make the promise that's bursting my heart wide open. I love you with a fierceness that robs my breath, and I will spend my lifetime finding ways to relay how uniquely and completely you_ ** _are_** _that love! I can't wait for my forever with you…_

 _Jason_

Slowly turning her wrist, Sam fingered the thin gold bracelet that held the diamond encrusted Amethyst birthstone that had been resting in a long velvet box beneath that note, her smile growing wider with the small shake of her head. Danny's birthstone. Jason Morgan was to this day _thee_ most romantic man she'd ever known!

"Jesus, you're beautiful!"

Eyes moving to the door she hadn't heard open, her breath caught at the sight. Jason in a dark suit had always jellied her knees and belly, and nothing had changed there. Him standing there, the stark white shirt contrasting the dark lines of the Italian suit that had been tailored to exactly fit broad, commanding shoulders, made her clit flick like the candlelight that spanned the room.

"Jesus, so are you!"

He felt transfixed to the floor, unable to rip his eyes away from what swam like a white light around her, standing there in all her gorgeous glory, curls bouncing against bare shoulders to the wispy, translucent short sleeves that ducked into the laced, corseted top of the victorian ivory dress. When she'd turned to smile at him it was as though the sun appeared above her head, casting warm rays that sparkled an already brimming picture that fired a riot through every molecule of his body. Without feeling his feet move, he was standing inside the door, eyes fixed on pouty, lush lips that threatened death did he not taste her immediately.

"Come here!"

She felt compelled by the low command to go to him, as she would forever be, her hand extending of its own mind to find refuge in the one held out for her, electrified, the moment it connected to the charge emitted through his slender, clasping fingers.

"You're not supposed to see me in my dress."

"Bad luck knows better than to come for us by now. We'll beat it everytime…just like everything else." His fingers played with hers as his eyes drank from the beautiful chestnut that pinnacled the masterpiece he got to see everyday. She so easily robbed him of all oxygen.

"Always the daredevil, aren't you?" Her summoned body edged closer to the magnet she'd never again fight, bringing her within an inch of the solid rock of a man she could freely call her own.

"You glow, you know that?" His hand still holding hers, traveled upward, where he traced her cheek with a forefinger, his gaze following the lowering of long lashed lids that sensed the lowering of his head.

"And a biased one at that."

Any more words she had died in the surrender of her lips to the feel of his, covering in sync with a sweeping embrace of her body to the chisel of his own, as with a backward kick of one foot he slammed the door shut behind him and propelled her further into the room.

Bereft of breath, she tore soundly kissed lips away to draw in air, trying to ease back from arms that gripped her in a vice.

"Jason, we can't - the ceremony is about to start."

"Not without us." The gasping words fell from lips that devoured her again, his fiery brain inflamed by anything that would dare try to stop him from having her, right here, right now.

Her head, aswim with air and light with need, struggled to form another thought, mindful only of hungry hands running down her back to grip asscheeks that reveled in the feel of his tight grasp to grind her into the bulging hardness at his crotch. Ignited heat soared through her chest and fired grasping arms to rip the shirt from its tuck inside hindering dark slacks…but fumbling fingers moved too slow, the leather belt would take too long, when the zipper was easily glided down to give her tiny hand enough room to duck in and find the gorging rod screaming to be let loose. Let loosed she did, moaning into his grinding kiss when he met her need with a pained groan of his own, furiously winding the dress up in fistfuls of ivory and white silk to the hem, one hand supporting her body to lift her to his waist, moments before she moaned aloud at his rigid rod grinding through her wetness. He was inside of her, all around her, in every part of her. Arms wrapped his shoulders tightly as she locked toned legs at his back and lifted her body to fall down on him again, desperate to get more of him even as he filled her everywhere.

The roaring winds that pelted rain and flying leaves against the windows, paled in comparison to the storm firing in the lift and fall of her hips up and down his steely rod, ripping Sam's belly open to the swirling feel of ecstasy that swelled and swelled, his tongue roaming her mouth against the sound of his gasping breath when she clamped her muscles on a cry of pleasure, breaking her lips free to send her head railing back in release. Eyelids clamped tight against the flashing orbs of light that jerked her body in spasms, fading only when his own jerks up into her ceased fire, and the sweet sensations left her limp and motionless in his strong arms. One hand still gripped the back of her neck as his head fell to the cushioning softness of her heaving, welcoming bosom, beautifully propped atop the bulging ivory corset.

"Why is the door locked?" Muffled sounds of her sisters and Maxie crept in to break the spell, Jason lowering her to the floor to the pounding knocks. "Sam, is everything okay? Sam?"

 _More than okay._ Eyes still closed, she gripped tightly to the arms holding her steady, trying hard to regulate the breaths that heaved her chest still. Languid smile awash within her, she finally opened them to the insistence of repeated knocks.

When she could breathe calmly, Jason, who'd zipped back up, was attempting to tuck his shirt in, jacket swung behind as he moved to the door. With a glance back to see she'd straightened her dress again, he turned the lock and opened to the surprised looks of filing ladies.

"Jason - what are you doing?" Molly had him by the arm as she ushered him out the door. "You can't see her in her dress!"

"It's a little late for that now, Molly." Maxie and Kristina exchanged knowing looks, the disheveled appearance of both not for one minute fooling either one.

"You know it's bad luck, Jason - why would you risk it?"

"Sam and I don't need luck for what we have, Molly." With a look at his bride-to-be that sent her every syllable he didn't need to utter, Jason reached inside his breast pocket, finally remembering his earlier reason for seeking her out to begin with. He took a step to get back in but was stopped by Molly shifting directly before him and ripping the letter from his hand. With a smirk, he took one last look at his lady, then left them to whatever it was they did in private. The sooner he left, the sooner she'd become completely his again.

Molly had scarcely turned from closing the door when Kristina snatched the envelop from her hand and ripped it open.

"Hey, that's private!" Sam made to take it but was stopped by Maxie's grip, who glared at her dress accusingly.

"You're all wrinkled." She flipped a messed curl in disapproval, "Sam, you can't walk down the aisle like this - not when everyone knows it was me who dressed you!" Then lowering her voice, she leaned closer to Sam's ear, "And you're going to hell for doing _it_ in a _church!"_

Opening lips that found no words, Sam looked almost thankfully to the sound of Kristina's voice, intrusively reading her private letter out loud.

 _"Dear Sam,_

 _The vows we say today are merely a formality, for I've lived them everyday since the day I knew I loved you. I've felt them every minute since that love was returned, and I'll honor them every second that I draw breath. 'You complete me' could never adequately describe the forever that lives between us, and though I'll never understand how I ever managed to earn your love, I swear by that love and the children it's produced, that I will never again give you reason to doubt my worth of it._

 _I don't know how you've stayed, but my knees are bent in thankful prayer for the remarkable strength you've used to love me with a ferocity I've only known to compare with my own for you. When you look at me it gives me wings. When you touch me it gives me strength…and when you love me…lord, when you love me, I can conquer the world._

 _I'm waiting anxious, eager, desperate to marry you, Sam. Again. Give me forever…and though not nearly enough, accept a lifetime spent in devotion of only you…because forever and always, I do…_

 _Your Jason"_

With a quick brush of powder that dried wet cheeks, a renewing layer of lipstick and a hurried toss of her curls, she spun from the mirror to hasten for the door.

"Come on, Maxie…"

Maxie was already moving past her to fling it open, "Yes, yes - you need to marry that man - _NOW!"_

"Wait for us!" Kristina tossed the damp tissue to the dresser and grabbed the powder from Molly's hands, dabbing quickly before following the rushing women from the room, every last one of them left teary by the words from a man they all knew not to use very many.

The small, intimate ceremony had just gotten underway when the heavens opened up, literally, part of the roof ripping off to circle away in the whirling wind, drenching the clasped handed couple below as they listened to Father Coates. All eyes turned heavenward, before Sam's bridal party made a quick dash from the altar to find dry refuge in the aisles, beckoning to the couple to follow. Father Coates joined in, urgently calling for Sam and Jason, who looked only at each other, back to the open roof, then at each other again, bright smiles emerging as they stood drenched and unmoving.

"Get out of the rain, you two!" Alexis and Monica both waved their arms frantically beckoning for Sam and Jason to join them, but neither moved, still smiling at each other, a shared secret evident to even the most unseeing eyes.

"Father…" Jason raised his voice loud enough to carry to the aisles, eyes still locked on the beauty with her fallen curls starting to cling to her, "…if you would?"

"Jason, we need to take shelter. Please." Father Coates edged a little closer but kept from the rain coming through the roof, shifting uncomfortably when the water pooled at his feet.

"We will - as soon as you've finished."

Despite his better judgement, the priest threw another doubtful look at the gaping roof and stepped back into place. He knew from experience just how stubborn and strong-willed the two were, having known them for many years. He also understood the power of the love that lived between them, and the urgency they felt to be rejoined. It was bad enough they'd insisted on going through with the ceremony once the hurricane had been broadcasted, but since they were all here…oh well…a little rain never hurt anyone.

Danny looked up at his aunt Molly gripping tightly to his hand, then back at his parents smiling at each other in the downpour that looked like so much fun. Wrenching from his aunt's hold, he dashed over to his parents and grinned up into the water showering above them. He was Best Man afterall and had a duty to perform. Spinning with his eyes closed, he laughed when he realized what his parents already knew… _this was fun!_

Gapes and amused gasps abounded from the small gathering where Spinelli, Nikolas, Sonny, Carly, Michael, Monica and the Davis women, all watched the unusual family before them, determined that a wedding would indeed take place. Happy, content, in love…the appearance of all three left their audience mesmerized and elated as they took part in something they'd never seen before. Shaking her head in disbelief, Kristina beamed at her sister's little family as Jason pulled his bride into his arms, rested his forehead to hers and rocked her slowly in place. Leave it to these two to not only get married in the middle of a hurricane, but to top it with a romantic rain-dance…like they hadn't a care in the world. Debris and water be damned, they were in each other's arms.

Fairytales were a thing of the past, but watching Jason and Sam, left no doubt to the dwindling, yet still fighting existence of romance and the undying promise of a forever love. Those two had fought their way to everything, when the world had sought to leave them with nothing. Everything and nothing…she knew without a doubt which one cloaked her sister, her king, and the products of their beautiful, beautiful love. May they always love just like this, right into their golden, golden years…and way beyond!

 ** _A/N: The end. Your company has been a pleasure and a joy on this ride, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for coming along. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did (except for the nurse parts in the beginning…lord, that took STRENGTH), but thanks for sticking it out to the bitter end. I know you're wondering, 'but what about Brent - is he good or is he evil?' I say, let Sonny find out. See you on the other side of the keyboard :-)_**


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